

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 






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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 






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SECRET NOSTRUMS 



SYSTEMS OF MEDICINE: 



A BOOK OF FORMULAS 



&* > pyright Q -l 

DEC 161889/ 
AS* 



COMPILED BY 

CHARLES W. OLESON, M. D. 



CHICAGO: 
OLESON & CO. 

iseo. 






a.* 



Copyright 

1889, 

By CHAS. W. OLESON. 



PREFACE. 



THE object sought in the compilation of "Secret 
Nostrums and Systems" has been the collec- 
tion of such formulas of secret remedies and methods 
as have been recently published in medical and 
pharmaceutical journals, and their preservation in a 
form convenient for reference. 

The only changes made have been the adoption of 
the abbreviations oz., dr., etc., in place of the usual 
signs. In re-publishing these analyses, we do not guar- 
antee their exactness; we can only give our authority. 

Several formulas of preparations that are not strictly 
proprietary have been included, because it has seemed 
proper to enlighten our readers in regard to them. 

While expressing our obligations to all sources from 
which we quote, we are especially indebted to the 
following journals: 

The New Idea, the organ of the firm of Frederick 
Stearns & Co., of Detroit. This house, in addition to 
the good work done in the exposure of the character 
of secret compounds, has introduced a line of non- 
secret remedies for popular use. These preparations 
are as excellent as they are attractive. 



The Medical World, of Philadelphia, one of the 
brightest and most practical of our medical journals, 
as the character of our extracts from its pages shows. 

The Western Druggist, of Chicago. This is a live 
monthly, an implacable foe to humbugs of all kinds, 
and quite as useful to the physician as to the 
pharmacist. 

Much of our material in regard to the schemes and 
practices of rectal specialists, has been taken from 
Professor Andrews's Rectal and Anal Surgery, pub- 
lished by W. T. Keener, Chicago. In addition to the 
information given by it respecting the methods of 
irregulars, the best that is known in regard to the 
proper and successful treatment of these diseases is 
also fully presented. 

December 5, 1889. 



SECRET NOSTRUMS 

AND 

SYSTEMS 



ALBADERMINE. 

Under the title Albadermine, a foreign surgeon has 
devised a method of treatment for the removal of 
"tan" and the milder variety of "freckles," which is as 
follows: 

SOLUTION A. 

Take of — 

Potass, iodid 2 dr. 

Iodini pur 6 gr. 

Glycerine 3 dr. ■ 

Infus. rosse 4 oz. 

Dissolve the iodide of potassium in a small quan- 
tity of the infusion and a dram of the glycerine; 
with this fluid moisten the iodine in a glass mortar 
and rub it down, gradually adding more liquid until 
complete solution has been obtained; then stir in the 
remainder of the ingredients, and bottle the mixture. 

SOLUTION B. 

Take of — 

Sodii hyposulph. (Thiosulphate) . . . iji oz. 
Aqua ros?e r pint. 

Dissolve and filter. 

5 



O SECRET NOSTRUMS 

With a small camel's hair pencil or piece of fine 
sponge apply a little of "Albadermine A" to the tanned 
or freckled surface, until a slight but tolerably uniform ' 
brownish-yellow skin has been produced. At the 
expiration of fifteen or twenty minutes moisten a piece 
of cambric, lint, or soft rag with " B," and lay it upon 
the affected part, removing, squeezing away the liquid, 
soaking it afresh, and again applying until the iodide 
stain has disappeared. Repeat the entire process 
thrice daily, but diminish the frequency of the appli- 
cation if tenderness be produced. In the course of 
from three or four days to as many weeks the freckles 
will either have disappeared entirely or their intensity 
will be greatly diminished. "Summer freckles" yield 
very speedily to this treatment. 



ALLEN'S LUNG BALSAM. 

Kilner gives the following formula, said to resemble 
very closely: 

Take of— 

Tinct. sanguinaria 8 oz. 

Tinct. lobelia 8 oz. 

Tinct. opium 4 oz. 

Tinct. capsicum 1 ^ oz. 

Essence sassafras 1 oz. 

Essence anise 1 oz. 

New Orleans molasses Y-z gal. 

Bring the syrup to a boil, and add cautiously the 
other ingredients. 



AND SYSTEMS. 7 

ALLEN'S WORLD'S HAIR RESTORER. 

This hair restorer may be prepared according to 
the following formula: 

Take of — 

Sulphur 6 parts. 

Acetate of lead 8 parts. 

Glycerine ioo parts. 

Water, flavored 200 parts. 

Dissolve the acetate of lead in the water, then add 
the glycerine and sulphur. Any aromatic water may be 
used for making the restorer. — American Pharmacist. 

ANTI-CONSTIPATION PAD. 

Take of — 

Mandrake root 3 oz. 

Aloes, powdered % oz. 

Ext. colocynth. comp., powdered . . l /a oz. 

Croton oil 1 dr. 

Oil of sassafras 1 dr. 

Black-root % oz. 

Ladies' slipper y 2 oz. 

Mix. Wear pad directly below pit of stomach. 

ARABIAN BALSAM. 

A good formula for Arabian Balsam is as follows: 
Take of— 

Oleum gossypium 15 oz. 

Oleum origani 1 oz. 

Oleum terebinth 4 dr. 

Mix. — S. IV. Rogers, Harwich, Mass. 



8 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

ASEPTIN. 

This preservative material for milk, meat, etc., is 
said to be made as follows: 

Take of— 

Borax 2 parts. 

Alum 1 part. 

Powder and mix thoroughly together. — National 
Druggist. 

ATHLOPHOROS. 

Athlophoros is put up in a green panel bottle con- 
taining scant four ounces of a thick, clear, deep yel- 
low liquid of sweetish acrid taste and acid reaction. 
It is put up in corrugated strawboard pipe, and wrap- 
ped in lithographic wrapper, which gives the informa- 
tion that it is " Searle's Great Rheumatic and Neu- 
ralgia Cure." 

We find that the following formula makes a prepara- 
tion scarcely to be distinguished from the proprietary 
preparation: 

Take of— 

Acetate of Potash 1 dr. 

Salicylate of Soda 490 gr. 

Sugar 4 oz. 

Caramel 3 drops. 

Water 14 fl. dr. 

To make four ounces. Dissolve the salts and sugar 
in the water, add caramel, and, if need be, a little 
water to make the product measure four fluid ounces. 



AND SYSTEMS. 9 

We obtain 50 grains of salicylic acid, in a pure form 
for weighing, from 1 fluid ounce of the mixture, equal 
to 122.5 grains of salicylate of soda. 

The bottle contains a short four fluid ounces of the 
liquid and is deeply paneled. The label states that 
the dose is one teaspoonful every three hours, taken 
in milk or water. In acute cases the dose is two tea- 
spoonfuls. They also urge the patient not to feel 
alarmed if the medicine causes ringing in the ears. 

We should not feel surprised if 30 grains of sali- 
cylate of soda did make the ears ring. — New Idea. 



AYEE'S AGUE CURE. 

This is said to be a syrupy tincture of cinchona with 
aromatics. Each bottle holds 6 fluid ounces, and each 
fluid ounce was found to contain 3.2 grains of amor- 
phous cinchona alkaloids, 3 grains cinchonine, 0.9 
cinchonidine, 0.8 quinine, and 1 grain quinidine. 



AYER'S CHERRY PECTORAL. 

Take of— 

Acetate of morphia 3 gr. 

Tincture of bloodroot 2 dr. 

Wine antimony 3 dr. 

Wine ipecac 3 dr. 

Syrup wild cherry 3 oz. 

Mix. 

— Pacific Med. and Surg. Journal. 



SECRET NOSTRUMS 
AYER'S HAIR VIGOR. 



Take of — 



Acetate of lead 3 parts. 

Flowers of sulphur 2 parts. 

Glycerine 14 parts. 

Water 80 parts. 

— Journal d' Hygiene Populaire. 

AYER'S SARSAPARILLA. 

Take of — 

Fluid extract Sarsaparilla 3 oz. 

" Stillingia 3 oz. 

" Yellow dock 2 oz. 

" May apple 2 oz. 

Sugar 1 oz. 

Iodide potassium 90 gr. 

" iron 10 gr. 

— Chicago Druggist. 

AYER'S (MRS. HARRIET HUBBARD) RECAMIER 
BALM. 

Recamier Balm comes in a cheap glass flask, tied 
with a bit of ribbon and filled with water; contains a 
white powder — the oxide of zinc — and corrosive sicb- 
li?nate. This preparation is sold for $1.50. It costs, 
at most, to make it, ten cents. — Boston Journal of 
Health. 

Since the analysis of the Boston Journal of Health 
came to the writer's notice, R. G. Eccles has exam- 
ined Recamier Balm, which he states in the Drug- 



AND SYSTEMS. II 

gists' Circular, to contain substantially 2^ grains cor- 
rosive sublimate and 60 grains zinc oxide. 

AYER'S (MRS. HARRIET HUBBARD) RECAMIER 
CREAM. 

The Western Druggist gives the formula for 
Recamier Cream: 

Take of— 

Oxide of zinc 2 oz. 

Glycerine 6^ dr. 

Water 1 dr. 

Spirits of rose (4 drs. to pint) . . . 1 dr. 

Triturate together until a perfectly homogeneous 
mass results. 

AYER'S (MRS. HARRIET HUBBARD) RECAMIER 
MOTH AND FRECKLE EOTION. 

Recamier Moth and Freckle Lotion contains corro- 
sive sublimate in almond paste or emulsion with water. 
It is sold for $1.50. It costs, at most, ten cents. — Bos- 
ton Journal of Health. 

AYER'S (MRS. HARRIET HUBBARD) RECAMIER 
POWDER. 

Recamier Powder contains arrowroot and oxide of 
zinc. It is put up in a pasteboard box, and is sold for 
Si. 00. Its actual cost is about five cents. — Boston 
Journal of Health. 



12 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

AYER'S (MRS. HARRIET HUBBARD) RECAMIER 
SOAP. 

Recamier Soap is an ordinary toilet soap, such as is 
usually sold for ten cents. Harriet Hubbard Ayer 
sells it for twenty-five cents. For the same, scented, 
fifty cents is asked. 



These, then, are the famous (?) " Recamier prepara- 
tions," the secret of which was obtained, according to 
the circular which accompanies them, " by Mrs. Ayer 
from a French countess, a relative of Madame 
Recamier ! " And what are they ? Cheap, ordinary 
preparations, known from time immemorial, and con- 
demned by physicians on account of the corrosive sub- 
limate — a deadly poison — which most of them contain. 
— Boston Journal of Health. 

AYER'S (MRS. HARRIET HUBBARD) VITA 
NUOVA.— (New Life.) 

" A life-giving and health renewing cordial and 
tonic. Unsurpassed in excellence as a restorative, 
effecting marvelous cures in all cases of mental 
exhaustion, general debility, nervous prostration, 
insomnia, dyspepsia, hysteria in its many forms, 
neuralgia and congestive headaches, etc., etc." "A 
positive cure for the opium and alcohol habits. Dose: 
half of a claret glassful, or about three tablespoon- 
fuls three times a day, with meals. In addition to this 
it can be taken as necessity requires after any unusual 



AND SYSTEMS. 13 

labor, mental or physical." Price, $1.00 a bottle. In 
addition to this, the circular which accompanies it 
makes the specific statement that, though tasting like 
a wine 30 years old, it is positively free from alcohol 
or narcotics, and that it is free from " reactionary 
effects." " It creates no craving and can be left off at 
any moment without the slightest desire for it." 

In the July, 1888, New Idea, we published the 
analysis of this nostrum which was made by the 
Boston Journal of Health, This analysis made it out 
to be simply a port wine, containing between 18 and 
19 per cent, alcohol. Since then, Dr. R. G. Eccles 
published in the Druggists' Circular a lengthy article 
on the Hubbard-Ayer preparations, and calls attention 
particularly to the presence of cocaine in the Vita 
Nuova. We have recently examined this preparation 
also and find it to contain notable quantities of cocaine 
easily detected by the organo-leptic test, and also about 
19% per cent., by volume, of alcohol. 

When we come to compare our results and those of 
Eccles with their statement that the preparation is 
" positively free from alcohol," that it is "a positive 
cure for the opium and alcohol habit," and that it 
" creates no craving, can be left off at any moment 
without the slightest desire for it," something of the 
enormity of their offense becomes apparent. This 
and others of its kind, well knowing that no law can 
reach them, continue on their paths of deceit, and 
this will continue until the community which has 
been se long and so often duped by these disgraceful 



14 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

quacks, join hands and become united in the effort to 
secure the enactment of laws which shall regulate and 
control the sale and representations of patent med- 
icines. The extreme importance of such statutes is 
becoming daily of more and more consequence to the 
public and to pharmacy. — New Idea. 



AUGSBURG ESSENCE OF LIFE. 

Take of— 

Rad. rhei . . . i oz. 

Myrrhae 2 oz. 

Rad. gentianae 2 oz. 

Croci opt Yz oz. 

Camphor Yz oz. 

Rad. zedoar 1 oz. 

Rad. angelicas. 2^ oz. 

Castor y? oz. 

Aloes, Socot 2 oz. 

Sp. vini. rect 2 pts. 

Aquas 2 pts. 

Mix. Digest five days and filter. 

Dose: — A teaspoonful twice a day. 

— Medical World. 



BARNES'S FROST BALSAM. 

Take of— 

Copaiba Yz oz. 

Oil turpentine ^2 oz. 

Mix. 



AND SYSTEMS. 15 

BAREEL'S INDIAN LINIMENT. 

Take of— 

Tr. capsicum i dr. 

Oil origanum 1 

Oil sassafras. Lf each / 2 oz. 

Oil pennyroyal ( ' 

Oil hemlock J 

Alcohol i qt. 

— New Idea. 

BARKER'S BONE AND NERVE LINIMENT. 

FOR MAN OR BEAST. 

Cures rheumatism, sprains, bruises, chilblains, * 
* * etc., etc. 

We have made an examination of the foregoing lin- 
iment and find it to be essentially a liquid petroleum 
product, containing large quantities of camphor and 
turpentine, and with smaller quantities of oil of tar 
and probably oil of thyme. The bottle is square and 
deeply paneled and holds two fluid ounces of a dark 
colored fluorescent liquid. The following formula, 
according to H. W. Snow, makes a preparation not to 
be easily distinguished from the original : 

Take of— 

Camphor 70 gr. 

Oil of tar >£ fl. dr. 

Oil of thyme 1 fi. dr. 

Oil of turpentine 2 fl. dr. 

Franklin oil (black oil, lubricat- 
ing oil) sufficient to make ... 2 fl. oz. 

— New Idea. 



16 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

BATJNSCHEIDT'S OIL. 

This preparation is sold to accompany the instru- 
ment used for counter-irritation. It sells in the sur- 
gical instrument stores for $1.35 per vial. The 
following formula may be taken as making substan- 
tially the same preparation as the Baunscheidt's Oil: 

Take of — 

Croton oil 1 oz. 

Cotton-seed oil 4 oz. 

Oil of caraway 2 minims. 

Mix. 

BECKER'S EYE SALVE. 

Take of — 

Calamine 1 y 2 dr. 

Tutty 1% dr. 

Red oxide of mercury 6 dr. 

Camphor in powder 1 dr. 

Almond oil ... 1 dr. 

White wax 1^ oz. 

Fresh butter 8 oz. 

Reduce the mineral substances to a very fine pow- 
der and incorporate with the oil, in which the camphor 
has been dissolved with the wax and butter, previously 
melted together. — Kilner's Modern Pharmacy. 

BEGGS'S FEVER AND AGUE PILLS. 

Beggs's Fever and Ague Pills, for radical and per- 
manent cure of ague upon " purely scientific princi- 
ples," consist, according to our examination, as follows: 



AND SYSTEMS. I 7 

Each pill contains one grain of quinia sulphate, one- 
half grain cinchonia sulphate, rhubarb one grain, with 
a little flavoring. These pills are put up in a half- 
ounce plain flint vial ; they are uncoated, 32 pills in a 
bottle, balance of space filled with powdered licorice 
root. A small slip with title, uses, and directions sur- 
rounds the bottle, and a red lead wrapper, type set, 
surrounds the whole. This is an excellent ague cure. 

— New Idea. 

BENSON'S SKIN CURE. 

This secret nostrum consists of two preparations, 
one for internal use and one for external application. 

A — Internal. — An elongated, round, long neck green 
bottle contains scant 2 fluid ounces of a watery, light 
brownish yellow liquid of no reaction, of pronounced 
bitter taste and rosemary-like smell, reminding one of 
bay rum or of a barber shop. The half clear liquid 
has pieces floating in it resembling petals of clover 
blossoms. It consists, according to our examination, 
of clover blossoms 720 grains, yellow-dock root 90 
grains, gentian root 120 grains, boiled (one hour) with 
one pint of water. Cool, transfer to a closed vessel, 
and add one ounce of alcohol in which has previously 
been dissolved oil of rosemary, oil of thyme each one 
minim; let it stand over night, strain next morning; 
make up to one pint with water sufficient. 

B — External Application. — An elongated, round, 
long neck green bottle contains 4 fluid ounces of a 
whitish, permanently acid liquid of slight acid metallic 



15 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

smell, depositing when at rest a small amount of grayr 
ish precipitate. This solution consists, according to 
our examination, of acetate of lead 2 grains, acetate 
of copper 1 grain, acetate of zinc 15 grains, benzoated 
water 12 fluid ounces ; mix. The benzoated water is 
readily prepared by agitating half an ounce of tincture 
of benzoin with 12 ounces of warm water, allowing 
it to cool and settle; then filter. It is warranted to 
cure all the skin diseases described in the medical 
dictionaries. — New Idea. 



BOSCHEE'S GERMAN SYRUP. 

We copy from December World, 1885: 
Take of — 

Oil of tar 1 fl. dr. 

Fluid extract ipecac 4 fl. dr. 

Fluid extract wild cherry 6 fl. dr. 

Tincture of opium 4 fl. dr. 

Carbonate of magnesia 3 dr. 

Water 6 fl. oz. 

White sugar 10 oz. 

Triturate the magnesia, first, with the oil of tar; 
then with a mixture of the fluid extracts and water; 
filter and form a solution with the sugar, by agitation, 
without heat. 

BRANDRETH'S PILLS. 

Dr. D. S. Clark {American Druggist) says the fol- 
lowing is the formula: 



AND SYSTEMS. I 9 

Take of— 

Extract colocynth i scruple 

Aloes, Socotrine 2 dr. 

Gamboge 1 dr. 

Castile soap Yt, dr. 

Oil peppermint 2 drops 

Oil cinnamon 1 drop 

Powd. arabic and alcohol, 

of each sufficient quantity. 

Mix and make 80 pills. 
Dose: 1 to 3, as directed. 

BRINKERHOFF SYSTEM OF TREATING PILES 
AND OTHER DISEASES OF THE RECTUM. 

There have been so many inquiries of late concern- 
ing the above treatment that we deem it a duty to tell 
our readers, as nearly as possible, of what the alleged 
specific treatment consists. The following is the Brin- 
kerhoff secret pile remedy or injection: 

Take of — 

Carbolic acid 1 oz. 

Olive oil 5 oz. 

Zinc, chloride 8 gr. 

Mix. Inject into the largest piles, eight drops; 
into the medium sized piles, from four to six drops; 
into small piles, from two to three drops; into club 
shaped piles, near the anal orifice, two drops. 

He directs hot sitz baths for cases where violent 
pains follow an injection. He recommends an interval 
of from two to four weeks between each injection. 



20 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

The following is the formula for his " celebrated ulcer 
specific: " 

Take of— 

Dist. ext. hamamelis 5 dr. 

Liq. ferri subsulph 1 dr. 

Acidi carbolici, cryst 2 gr. 

Glycerin 2 dr. 

Mix. For fistula in ano, inject ten or fifteen drops 
deep into the fistula and press the track of the fistula 
with the finger, to force the fluid more deeply in. 

In cases of rectal ulcer he gives the following treat- 
ment: To an ounce and a half of water add half a 
teaspoonful of the "ulcer specific" and a half tea- 
spoonful of starch, and inject into the rectum every 
night. Sometimes he orders an injection of starch 
into the rectum of mornings, after the bowels have 
moved. 

Brinkerhoff advises his disciples to let prolapsus of 
the rectum alone and not to bother with it. This 
embraces the whole of the much advertised treatment, 
which he sells for $200.00 and a royalty on every dol- 
lar that you take in from it. Again, you are compelled 
to buy from him all the remedies that he has recom- 
mended. Not one of his followers knows the formula 
of anything that they are using. They don't know 
whether it is water or whisky. The package of pow- 
der he sells is nothing but starch. The formula of the 
" ulcer specific " has already been given. The syringe 
that he and his followers sell to patients for $2.00 or 
$2.50 can be had of any good wholesale firm for $8.00 



AND SYSTEMS. 21 

per dozen. The truth of the whole business is, Brink- 
erhoff got up his rectal treatment system for the 
purpose of making money out of it, whether it did the 
patient any good or not. I verily believe that there 
never was a man, woman, or child who consulted Brink- 
erhoff or his followers that was free from rectal ulcer, 
or what they call rectal ulcer. (They generally show 
the patient's friends the rectal fossa and term it a hor- 
rible eating ulcer, that is daily destroying the patient's 
vitality, and which will sooner or later cause him to fill 
a consumptive's grave.) In fact, the Brinkerhoff sys- 
tem is a fraud and a humbug, and can only be classed 
with other mysterious and secret remedies that quacks 
use and advertise. Any medical man with a little 
judgment can treat hemorrhoids and other rectal dis- 
eases much more successfully after reading a first-class 
book on the subject, which he can buy for from $i to 
$3, than he can by paying Brinkerhoff's agents $200.00 
and getting a few obsolete prescriptions and patent 
medicines, besides paying a ten per cent, royalty on 
.every dollar that he takes in from the treatments he 
may give. These are the facts in the case. 

— The Medical Waif. 
The " Brinkerhoff System " as applied to fissures of 
the anus is this: Once or twice a month, as the itin- 
erant comes around on his circuit, he inserts his little 
speculum, cleans out the ulcer, and applies to it a solu- 
tion of nitrate of silver, forty grains to the ounce. Be- 
tween the applications the patient uses a morning and 
evening treatment himself. Each morning he is to 



2 2 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

evacuate the bowels, then inject the rectum with luke- 
warm water, and finally insert into it a little ointment, 
consisting of three grains of carbolic acid and eight 
grains of sulphur to the ounce of vaseline or lard. 
For evening treatment he uses Brinkerhoff Ulcer 
Remedy [the preparation of extract of hamamelis, sol. 
persulph. iron, etc., given above as "Ulcer Specific."] 
Add half a teaspoonful of this to the same quantity of 
starch and about an ounce and a half of water. In- 
ject into the rectum every evening. 

This system is gotten up for itinerants who are ex- 
pected to be ignorant, and who cannot be trusted with 
edge tools; it, therefore, sternly prohibits all cutting 
operations, and furnishes no instrument with which an 
incision can be made. — Andrews's Rectal and Anal 
Surgery. 

In treating polypus Brinkerhoff directs his itinerants 
to tie the pedicle close to the wall of the gut with 
waxed saddler's silk. Then, if the pedicle is long, 
they are to snip it off outside the knot. If it is short 
they leave it in situ, put the patient to bed, and consti- 
pate the bowels for about three days, when they are to 
give a gentle cathartic. — Andrews's Rectal and Anal 
Surgery. 

The claim for this treatment being that it is mild 
and painless, the testimony of an Illinois physician who 
invested is interesting. 

Dr. Layton, of Modoc, 111., in a communication to 
the Medical World, says: One of your readers asked 
what was the so-called Brinkerhoff treatment for piles, 



AND SYSTEMS. 2J. 

etc. I being one of his many victims, having paid for 
the privilege of using his very painless treatment, and 
using it for some year or more, am prepared to say 
that although I obtained considerable information of 
how such diseases should be treated, yet practically 
the Brinkerhoff treatment is a fraud; having no special 
advantages over any other carbolic acid treatment,, 
such as has long since been known to the general pro- 
fession. As to its being painless, I can say from posi- 
tive experience that this is far from being the case, as 
I have had several of my patients hint at a suit for 
malpractice on account of such excruciating pain and 
soreness; so that I even forgot to ask them for my bill. 
The Hemorrhoidal Compound, as he sees fit to call 
it, is nothing more than carbolic acid, incorporated 
with pure sperm oil or glycerine. As letters patent of 
U. S. 241,288, of May 10th, 1881, show, his other fluid 
for injecting into the rectum consists of dist. ext. 
hamamelis, etc. He has a salve of which carbolic acid 
is the great desideratum; and added to all this are little 
paper bags of starch, holding perhaps an ounce, each 
of which he liberally sells for ten cents as an adjuvant 
to his other treatment. Altogether the treatment is not 
a bad one, save the idea of it being painless; and the 
pretence that he was the originator of the ground plan 
so long known, of treating piles by carbolic acid. 

As to his rectal ulcer, which he scares so many of his 
patients about, and of which so many are illustrated 
in the pamphlet sent out by him, it is nothing more 
than the internal sphincter ani; not but that there is 



24 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

ulceration of the rectum, resulting many times in fistu- 
lous openings, but they are not of the form represented 
in his pamphlet, nor are they to be found in every- 
body's rectum, as he would have one believe. 

His rectal speculum is a good one, but Dr. Rorick's 
patent, also the one made by Aloe & Co., of St. Louis, 
Mo., have equally as good merits, and one does not 
bave to purchase a hundred and fifty dollar territory 
in order to get one. 

I could say much more of this so-called Brinkerhoff 
treatment, but I think further comment unnecessary. 



BRODIE'S LINIMENT FOR ASTHMA. 

Take of— 

Oil of stillingia 4 dr. 

Oil of cajeput 2 dr. 

Oil of lobelia 1 dr. 

Alcohol 1 oz. 

Mix. Bathe the chest and throat three times a day. 



BRODIE'S LINIMENT. 

Take of— 

Sulphuric acid 1 dr. 

Olive oil 1 oz. 

Turpentine 1 oz. 

Add the acid gradually to the oil, stirring in a 
mortar; afterward add the turpentine. 



AND SYSTEMS. 25 

BROMO-CHLORALUM. 
Kilner gives the following: 
Take of— 

Alum, coarse powder i lb. 

Boiling water 2 pts. 

Aqua ammonia sufficient. 

Muriatic acid sufficient. 

Bromine ^ oz. 

Water sufficient. 

Dissolve the alum in the boiling water. Add 2^/2 
gallons of cold water and mix well ; then add aqua 
ammonia until the odor of the ammonia can be de- 
tected in the mixture and a precipitate is formed. 
Allow it to settle and pour off the supernatant liquid. 
Put on fresh water again, stir well, allow to settle and 
again pour off. Then place the precipitate upon a 
muslin strainer and drain well; put the precipitate into 
a closed vessel and carefully add the bromine; finally 
add sufficient muriatic acid, little at a time, to dissolve 
the precipitate, and then enough water to complete the 
measure of one-half gallon, and filter. 

BROWN'S BRONCHIAL TROCHES. 

Said to be like the original formula: 

Take of— 

Powdered ext. of licorice 1 lb. 

Powdered sugar 1 J4 lb. 

Powdered cubebs %. lb. 

Powdered gum arabic %. lb. 

Ext. conium 1 oz. 

— New Idea. 



26 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

BROWN'S CAMPHORATED SAPONACEOUS 
DENTINE. 

According to L. H. Gardner's analysis, made in our 
laboratory, this preparation has the following compo- 
sition : 

Take of — 

Calcium carbonate 71 per cent. 

c am p pho;:::;::::::::.::| 2 9P ercent - 

New Idea. 

BROWN'S IRON BITTERS 

Are said to contain in each fluid dram: 

Iron 1 gr. 

Calisaya bark 2 gr. 

Phosphorus 1-200 gr. 

Coca 1 gr. 

Viburnum prunifolium 1 gr. 

BROWN'S MALE-FERN VERMIFUGE. 

Is offered in bottles containing n fluid drams of 
preparation. The following formula, though not 
offered as strictly " the same " as that used in the 
manufacture of the secret article, makes a preparation 
sufficiently near for all ordinary purposes: 

Take of— 

Fl. ext. male fern 3 fl. oz. 

Oil wintergreen 1 minim. 

Simple syrup 5 fl. oz. 

Mix. — New Idea. 



AND SYSTEMS. 27 

BRUNELLI PROCESS OF EMBALMING. 

The circulatory system is cleansed by washing with 
cold water until it issues quite clear from the body. 
This may occupy from two to five hours. Alcohol is 
injected so as to take out as much water as possible. 
This occupies about a quarter of an hour. Ether is 
then injected to abstract the fatty matter. This occu- 
pies from two to ten hours. A strong solution of 
tannin is then injected. This occupies for imbibition 
from two to ten hours. The body is then dried in a 
current of warm air passed over heated chloride of 
calcium. This may occupy from two to five hours. 
The body is then perfectly preserved and resists decay. 

BRYAN'S PULMONIC WAFERS. 

" Warranted to give relief in ten minutes after use, 
and cure in a few days all coughs, colds, irritation of 
the uvula and tonsils, influenza, bronchitis, asthma, 
sore throat, consumption, and all diseases of the lungs 
and chest." 

This Canadian preparation, which is warranted to 
do so much in such a short length of time, was found 
to consist wholly of sugar and corn starch. Our 
readers may judge for themselves as to the true effi- 
cacy of such a preparation. — New Idea. 



28 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

BUCKLER'S CROUP MIXTURE. 

Take of— 

Tartar emetic 2 gr. 

Pulv. ipecac 4° g r - 

Syrup of squills 2 fl. oz-. 

Mix. Dose: teaspoonful every ten minutes until 
emesis occurs. 

BUCKLEN'S ARNICA SALVE. 

Take of— 

Extract arnica 1 oz. 

Resin cerate 8 oz. 

Vaseline 2 oz. 

Raisins, seedless. 8 oz. 

Fine cut tobacco /4 oz. 

Water sufficient. 

Boil the raisins and tobacco in one pint of water 
until the strength is extracted; express the liquid and 
evaporate to four ounces. Soften the extract of arnica 
with a little hot water and mix the liquid with it; add 
this to the resin cerate and vaseline previously warmed 
and mix thoroughly. — Kilner's Modern Pharmacy. 

BULL'S BLOpD SYRUP. 

Take of— 

Iodide of potash 1 2 dr. 

Red iodide of mercury 2 gr. 

Tinct. of poke root 3 dr. 

Comp. syrup of stillingia 6 oz. 

Simple syrup, to make 1 pt. 

Mix. — National Druggist. 



AND SYSTEMS. 29 

BULL'S COUGH SYRUP. 

We purchased one of the smaller sized bottles and 
submitted it to examination. The bottle, a so-called 
" four ounce," was deeply paneled, and contained 
three fluid ounces of a syrupy, reddish-brown liquid. 
Its composition is exceedingly simple, and we were 
unable to find anything except morphia sulphate with 
sugar-house syrup as a vehicle. The morphia sulphate 
was present in quantities of about three-fourths of a 
grain to a grain per bottle of three ounces. It is also 
worthy of note that it contains a caution label which 
reads: 

"Medicine should never be kept within the reach of chil- 
dren. It is highly i??iportant to pay strict attention to the 
directions for taking Dr. Bulls Cough Syrup.''' 

We have no reason to believe that it contains any- 
thing else of medicinal consequence than the morphia 
and sugar-house syrup. — New Idea. 

CALDER'S SAPONACEOUS DENTINE. 

L. H. Gardner, who made an analysis of this pre- 
paration in our laboratory, states it to be: 

Take of— 

Calcium carbonate 56 per cent. 

Soap (by difference) 44 per cent. 

Perfumed with oil of wintergreen. — New Idea. 



30 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

CALIFORNIA LINIMENT 

Take of— 

Tinct. myrrh ...... i oz. 

Tinct. capsicum i oz. 

Sweet spirits nitre i oz. 

Sulph. ether i oz. 

Chloroform y 2 oz. 

Tinct. arnica i oz. 

Oil spearmint 2 dr. 

Oil wintergreen 2 dr. 

Oil lobelia 1 dr. 

Aqua ammonia ^ oz. 

Alcohol 1 qt. 

Mix. — Kilner. 

CANCER PASTES AND PLASTERS. 

CANCER PASTE. 

Take of— 

Chloride of zinc, pulverized bloodroot, flour, equal 
parts of each, and moisten with aromatic sulph. acid, 
and it is sure. 

I use another which will remove lupoids nicely; but, 
notwithstanding it is simple, it is much more severe 
than the former. I drain off the white of an egg, 
then place the yolk in a common mortar, stir into 
it all the chloride of sodium I can; grind it to a thor- 
ough paste. This is guaranteed to draw the man out 
of his boots. I use these frequently and always with 
success. Remember, it is not " what we like, but 
when, where, and how," and I am sure all doctors can 
use these just as well as the cancer doctor. — F. B. 
Brewer, M. D., in Chicago Med. Times. 



AND SYSTEMS. 3 1 

CANCER PASTE. 

The last number of your journal contained an 
inquiry as to how the paste to cure cancer is made. I 
will tell you how I have made it for the last twenty- 
three years. Take equal parts (by weight) of chloride 
of zinc, pulverized bloodroot, and wheat flour; mix 
well, add enough water to form a paste; spread the 
paste, just the size of the sore, on a rag and apply. 
Put olive oil around the ulcer before applying, 
in order to protect the sound tissue. Leave the 
paste on as long as the patient can bear it. Then 
remove and if convenient apply a mild poultice or 
salve. In six or eight days the cancer will come out; 
if it leaves a smooth and healthy surface, all is well; 
if not, repeat the application until all diseased tissue 
is removed. 

This has never failed me, but remember that many 
so-called cancers are not cancers at all; then again, 
some are so malignant that this paste and all others 
will not cure, but all the cases I have had for 
twenty-three years were healed. One that I have on 
hand now, on the lower lip of a man thirty-four years 
old, is stubborn, but I hope it will finally yield. 

I will be pleased to furnish any further information 
in my power. — Jer. Hess, M. D., in Med. World. 

CANCER PASTE. 

Take of— 
Arsenic, 
Sulphur, 

Zinc sulphate, and 
Rochelle salts. 



32 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

Of each equal parts; add yolk of one egg, till of 
the consistence of paste; bake with slow heat until 
dry, and then pulverize. When desired for use mix 
again with egg, and apply as paste or on cloth. — Med. 
and Surg. Reporter. 

ANOTHER. 

Take of— 

Solid extract of poke root, 
Solid extract of mandrake, 
Solid extract of bloodroot, 
Chromic acid, 
Chlor. carbon. 

(Quantities are not given.) 

ANOTHER. 

Take of— 

Chloride zinc, 
Chloride of bromine, 
Chloride gold, 
Chloride antimony. 
Mix into a paste with flour. (Quantities are not 
given).— T. S. Pyle, M. D., in Med. World. 

ANOTHER. 

Take of— 

Zinc chlor. 



c of each 5 gr. 

Aluminis pulv. \ 

Acid tannici 2 gr. 

Ferri persulphatis 3 g r - 

Glycerine, sufficient quantity for paste. 

Mix. Apply as paste or plaster. 

— IV. N. Sherman, M. £>., in Med. World. 



AND SYSTEMS. 33 

ANOTHER. 

Dr. J. B. Goodwin, of Stockton, Tenn., sends the 
following, which he thinks came from a quack: 

Take of— 

Chloride of zinc, 
Pulverized bloodroot, 
Flour. Of each equal parts. 

Mix and make paste. Encircle the cancer with 
adhesive plaster, spread the paste on a cloth and 
apply it. — Med. World. 

DR. FELL'S CANCER SALVE. 

Take of— 

Zinci chloridi 8 gr. 

Pulv. sanguinaria rad 6 gr. 

Amyli 8 gr. 

Mix. Apply on piece of kid or leather. 

HEBER'S CANCER PASTE. 

Take of — 

White arsenic i dr. 

Gum kino i oz. 

Cinnabar i oz. 

Hydrastis Canadensis 2 dr. 

Make the above ingredients into a paste with 
simple ointment composed of white wax and olive oil. 
Apply a thinly spread layer to the cancerous surface 
for twenty-four hours, or it may be rubbed on an 
eruptive surface once in twenty-four hours. If the 
cancer is large or covers considerable surface, the 
application should be premised by preparing the 



34 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

system by giving the hydrated sesqui-oxide of iron in 
full doses for a few days, to counteract the effect of 
the arsenic upon the system.— The House We Live In. 

FORMULA OF DR. LANDOLFI, OF NAPLES. 

Take of — 

Zinci chloridi i dr. 

Auri chloridi i dr. 

Antimonii chloridi i dr. 

Brominii chloridi i dr 

Flour, ) 

Water f sufficient to 

form thick paste. Spread on linen, and apply to 
ulcerated surface. 

CANCER PASTE OF ITINERANTS. 

Take of — 

Zinci chloridi i dr. 

Flour 3 dr. 

Aqua sufficient 

Make into paste. 

Lombard's secret cancer remedies. 

Dr. J. L. Horr says in Boston Medical and Surgical 
Journal: 

Having, without solicitation on my part, become 
possessed of the knowledge of the "secret reme- 
dies" employed by the late Doctor Lombard, 
the famous " cancer doctor " of Maine, I feel it my 
privilege, as a member of a scientific profession that 
has only for its object the advancement of knowl- 
edge and the relief of suffering, to make a simple 



AND SYSTEMS. 35 

statement of the remedies and methods which were 
employed in the so-called "treatment of cancer." 
The remedy employed, if the cancer was small, was 
the inspissated juice of leaves of the Phytolacca decan- 
dra (garget) which was applied in the form of a 
plaster until sloughing took place. The after treat- 
ment was some simple dressing like simple cerate. If 
the tumor had attained considerable size, Dr. Lom- 
bard first used a paste composed of chloride of zinc 
and pulverized sanguinaria until an eschar was pro- 
duced, and then the same plaster as before was 
applied until the mass sloughed away. The knowl- 
edge of these remedies was given to me by Dr. Lom- 
bard himself, while I was attending him during his 
last illness and a few days before his death. 

CARBOLATE OF IODINE INHALANT. 

The following is said to be similar to Cutler's. 
Take of— 

Compound tincture of iodine. . . 180 minims 

Carbolic acid, No. i 48 minims 

Glycerine 1 fl. dr. 

Water 5 11. dr. 

Mix and expose to the sunlight until the mixture is 
entirely colorless. — Nat. Druggist. 

CARBOLIC SMOKE BALLS. 

One of the latest introductions for the purpose of 
banishing catarrh, neuralgia, headache, deafness, hay 



36 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

fever, asthma, croup, whooping cough; also cures (?) 
granulated eyelids and sore eyes. 

Directions. — Hold the ball about one-eighth inch 
below the silk floss, with the thumb and forefinger of 
the left hand, about one and one half inches below 
the nose, and directly in front of the mouth. Snap 
rapidly on side of the ball, but only on the place soft- 
ened and marked, during each inhalation, with the 
middle finger of right hand, which will cause the 
smoke to arise. 

As found it consists of a small, round ball, wrapped 
in red cloth, with the ends hanging slightly loose. 
Upon opening, it was found to contain 310 grains of 
a gray powder, which upon snuffing up the nose 
caused violent sneezing, and there is an odor of smoke 
due to a tarry body. Upon an examination, made in 
our laboratory by H. W. Snow, it was found to con- 
sist of glycyrrhiza and flour (identified by microscop- 
ical examination and physical properties) and one of 
the veratrums, probably white hellebore (identified by 
means of the alkaloid jervine, which was separated 
and identified). The smoky body is some tar product, 
not easy to say just which. It is this latter and the 
white hellebore which it contains that cause it to 
yield a temporary relief; permanent relief we do not 
believe it can afford. No quantitative estimates were 
attempted. 

This cure costs the consumer $2.50 per ball. Money 
could be made on the material at 10c. a pound, enough 
for 19 balls with a little to waste; or prepared in the 



AND SYSTEMS. 37 

form of a ball as it is sold, it would yield a handsome 
profit at 5c. a ball. — New Idea. 



CARTER'S LITTLE LIVER PILLS. 

" For headache, torpid liver, constipation, and the 
complexion take one pill every night. As a purgative 
take 4 to 8." 

Weight of 12 pills about 7^ grains; of which prob- 
ably 2 to 2%. grains is sugar coating. They contain 
podophyllin and aloes made into a pill and coated 
with sugar. On the above we deduce the following 
formula' as closely resembling the original: 

Take of— 

Podophyllin 1 y 2 gr. 

Aloes (Socotrine) 3^ gr. 

Mucilage of acacia sufficient. 

Mix; divide into 12 pills and coat with sugar. 

— New Idea. 
CASTORIA. 

The following formula, from the Indiana Pharma- 
cist, is given as approximating this preparation: 

Take of— 

Senna 4 dr. 

Manna 1 oz. 

Rochelle salts 1 oz. 

Fennel, bruised 1 % dr. 

Boiling water 8 fl. oz. 

Sugar 8 oz. 

Oil of wintergreen sufficient. 



38 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

Pour the water on the ingredients. Cover and 
macerate until cool; strain and add the sugar, dissolve 
by agitation and add oil of wintergreen to flavor. 

OATANI'S SPECIFIC. 

Catani's specific for uric acid is a mixture of — 

Carbonate of lithium 1 part 

Carbonate of sodium 2 parts 

Citrate of potassium 4 parts 

All in powdered form. — Pharm. Post. 

CAZEAUX'S NIPPLE OINTMENT. 

Take of— 

White wax 4>2 oz. 

Oil sweet almonds 1 oz. 

Clarified honey Y<z oz. 

Balsam Peru 2^ dr. 

Mix. — Kilner. 

CELERINA. 

Celerina is said to be composed of — 

Fl. ext. celery 1 oz. 

Fl. ext. erythroxylon coca 1 oz. 

Fl. ext. viburn. prunifol . . .. 1 oz. 

Fl. ext. kola 1 oz. 

Alcohol 2 oz. 

Sugar 2 troy oz. 

Spirit orange 2 dr. 

Water to make 16 oz. 

— Med. Standard. 



AND SYSTEMS. 39 

CENTAUR LINIMENT. 

This widely advertised nostrum comes in two forms, 
" For Man " and " For Beast," and is put up in each 
case in two sizes. Examination shows both varieties 
to be soap emulsions of essential oils with aromatic 
oils for masking. 

FOR MAN. 

This is in a creamy white condition, with an odor 
strong of pennyroyal and with smaller amounts of oil 
of thyme, soap, and fixed alkali. The bottle holds 
three fluid ounces of liniment which is claimed to re- 
lieve rheumatism, neuralgia, sprains, burns, stiff 
joints, -bites, stings, bruises, swellings, chilblains, lock- 
jaw, earache, toothache, etc. The following may be 
taken as being very close to the original. 

Take of— 

Oil pennyroyal ]/ 2 oz. 

Oil thyme % oz. 

Oil turpentine % oz. 

Soap 1 30 gr. 

Caustic soda iogr. 

Water to make i pt. 

FOR BEAST. 

This bottle holds the same amount of liniment as 
that for man. The article is, however, thinner and 
darker colored as well as different in odor. It is 
claimed to have curative effects over spavin, ringbone, 
wind-galls, big-head, sweeney, scratches, poll-evil, 



40 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

sprains, spring-halt, bruises, wounds and sundry other 
local ailments of animals. 

The following may be taken as representing its com- 
position in essential respects. 

Take of — 

Oil spearmint i dr. 

Oil mustard 15 minims 

Oil turpentine % oz. 

Oil amber (crude) y>. oz. 

Black oil ^4 oz. 

Soap 130 gr. 

Caustic soda 10 gr. 

Water to make 1 pt. 

Method of preparing is that of an ordinary soap 
emulsion. The soap should be placed, together with 
the alkali, in a flask and then dissolved in two ounces 
of hot water; add the mixed oils in very small quanti- 
ties at a time with vigorous shaking. When the mix- 
ture has once assumed a creamy consistency the oils 
may be added more rapidly, but in any case reason- 
able care should be observed, and this is true in add- 
ing more water, which should be quite warm until the 
full pint is made. If the oils do not emulsify readily, 
it is necessary to begin over again, as either too much 
oil was added at first or the water was not warm 
enough. Strict attention must be paid to both of 
these considerations in order to secure success. 

— -New Idea. 



AND SYSTEMS. 41 

CHAMBERLAIN'S COLIC, CHOLERA, AND DIAR- 
RHOEA REMEDY. 
Take of— 

Tinct. capsicum. 20 fl. dr. 

Tinct. camphor 16 fl. dr. 

Tinct. guaicum 12 fl. dr. 

Mix. —Med. World. 

CHAMBERLAIN'S RELIEF (J. J. Pierson, Ph. G.) 

Take of— 

Tinct. capsicum (about) 1 oz. 

Spts. camphor " ^ oz. 

Tinct. guaiac " % oz. 

Color tinct. to make 2 oz. 

Mix. —The Drug Mill. 

CHLORALTJM. 

A formula for chloralum which we have states it 
to be: 

Take of— 

Aluminum chloride 20 oz. 

Sulphate of lime....... Yi oz. per. gal. 

— New Idea. 

CLARK'S BLOOD MIXTURE. 

Take of— 

Iodide of potassium 64 gr. 

Chloric ether 4 dr. 

Liquor potash 30 drops. 

Water 7^ fl. oz. 

Caramel to color. 



42 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

The chloric ether is made by dissolving one part 
by weight of chloroform in nineteen parts by volume 
of alcohol. 

CHLOBODYNE. 

There is no preparation prescribed to such an 
extent, or that has such a variety of formulas, as 
chlorodyne or chloranodyne. Every druggist is 
acquainted with Brown's, the original. It is undoubt- 
edly owing to the value of the preparation that so 
many analyses have been made, and consequently so 
many formulas exist, not in the number of articles, 
but in the quantities used. There is no doubt that 
the original contains morphia, hydrocyanic acid, pep- 
permint, chloroform, and capsicum, combined with 
molasses. All the formulas that I have seen contain 
the above; others contain cannabis indica, which 
undoubtedly is a valuable addition, but that the 
original contains cannabis indica has never been 
proved; the original also contains licorice. The fol- 
lowing is a mixture resembling Brown's, and I think 
fully as good: 
Take of— 

Chloroform i dr. 

Morphia 5 g r - 

Ether Vz dr. 

Oil peppermint 4 drops. 

Dil. hydrocyanic acid i dr. 

Tinct. capsici i dr. 

Molasses io dr. 

Ext. licorice 15 S r - 

Mix. 



AND SYSTEMS. 43 

The following is a mixture put up by a manufactur- 
ing firm: 
Take of— 

Sulph. morphia 24 gr. 

Tinct. cannabis indica 6 dr. 

Chloroform 6 drops. 

Tinct. capsici 12 drops. 

Oil peppermint 12 drops. 

Dil. hydrocyanic acid 72 drops. 

Alcohol 34. oz. 

Glycerine 3A oz. 

Mix. 

There is no doubt as to the superiority of the lat- 
ter preparation in its appearance. The former con- 
tains molasses, which was an article much used when 
the preparation was first introduced, but which modern 
pharmacy has entirely discarded. As to the effective- 
ness, there is probably not much difference, for the 
amount of morphia, the principal ingredient, is about 
the same. The former might be used where chloro- 
dyne has been prescribed, and the latter where chlo- 
ranodyne is specified. — Fred. Rohncrt, in American 
Pharmacist. 

CHLORODYNE. 

The following formula, by Maltbie, yields probably 
the best substitute for the British nostrum: 
Take of— 

Morphine hydrochlor. (mur.) . . 32 gr. 

Alcohol 3 fl. oz. 

Tinct. cannabis ind 1 fl. oz. 



44 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

Tinct. capsicum 30 minims. 

Oil peppermint 12 minims. 

Chloroform 1 fl. z. 

Acid hydrocyanic dil 2 fl. dr. 

Glycerin sufficient to make. . . 8 fl. oz. 

Dissolve the morphine in the alcohol, add the tinct- 
ures and the other ingredients in the order named. 

CLEARY'S ASTHMA POWDER 

Is stated to be made according to the following 
formula: 
Take of— 

Pulv. stramonium leaves 30 parts. 

Pulv. belladonna leaves 30 parts. 

Pulv. saltpetre 5 parts. 

Pulv. opium 2 parts. 

Mix. 

A little to be burned and fumes inhaled. 

— Chemist and Druggist. 

COALINE HEADACHE POWDERS. 

"We guarantee these powders to cure sick head- 
ache, and headache arising from nervousness, neural- 
gia, fatigue, exposure to the sun, alcoholic excesses, 
etc. A trial will convince you. Price, 25c. The 
Coaline Co., Syracuse, N. Y." 

Coaline is guaranteed not to contain "opium, 
chloral, morphine, or other narcotics; consequently 
they are perfectly harmless and leave no after effects 



AND SYSTEMS. 45 

whatever." Examination shows that the proprietors 
of this preparation have taken advantage of the 
newly discovered value of antipyrine in the control of 
migraine and sick headaches. The powders, which 
come three in a box, retailing at 25c, contain anti- 
pyrine and sugar. The amount of antipyrine was 
not determined nor the weight of the powders, as we 
only received one from our correspondent; we would, 
however, suggest antipyrine, 3 grains, cane sugar in 
powdered form, 15 grains, to each powder. One 
powder to be dissolved in a teaspoonful of water and 
taken as a dose, to be repeated in three-quarters of an 
hour if necessary. — New Idea. 

COBB'S PILLS. 

The following is said to be the composition: 

Take of — 

Extract of hyoscyamus ^ dr. 

Extract of conium ^ dr. 

Extract of colocynth 11 gr. 

Extract of nux vomica 4 gr. 

Mix. Divide into thirty pills. 

COE'S DYSPEPSIA CURE (Nelson). 

'lake of— 

Powdered rhubarb 2 dr. 

Fluid ext. of gentian 3 dr. 

Peppermint water 7 */> oz. 

Bicarbonate of sodium 6 dr. 

Mix. Dose: — A teaspoonful half an hour before 
meals. —The Drug Mill 



46 SECRET NOSTRUMS. 

COMBE'S APERIENT. 

Take of — 

Sulphate of magnes 35 parts. 

Roasted coffee 40 parts. 

Boiling water 500 parts. 

Mix. Boil for two minutes, sweeten to taste with 
white sugar. 

Dose: — One wine-glassful in the morning. 

COMEDONE LOTION. 

Take of— 

Sulphuric ether 1 oz. 

Carbonate ammonia 1 dr. 

Boracic acid 20 gr. 

Water to make 16 dr. 

Mix, and apply twice a day. 

The ammonia carbonate forms a soap with the 
grease. The boracic acid acts as an antiseptic and 
the ether as a solvent. — Analectic. 

An excellent preparation for "black heads," "pim- 
ples," "greasy skin," etc. — Compiler. 

COOK'S ELECTRO-MAGNETIC LINIMENT. 

Take of — 

Alcohol 1 gal. 

Oil amber 8 oz. 

Gum camphor 8 oz. 

Castile soap (fine) 2 oz. 

Beef's gall 4 oz. 

Aqua ammonia 12 oz. 

Mix. — K ilner. 



AND SYSTEMS. 47 

CORRASSA COMPOUND. 

Recipe for the permanent cure of spermatorrhoea, 
seminal weakness, involuntary emissions, impotence, 
etc.: 

Take of— 

Extract of corrassa apimis 8 dr. 

Extract of salarmo umbellifera . . 4 dr. 

Powdered alkermes latifolia 3 dr. 

Extract of carsadoc herbalis. ... 6 dr. 

Mix well together in a mortar, then put the mixture 
in a box and keep it covered, or wrap it in paper and 
cover with tinfoil to exclude the air. For a dose, take 
about half a tea-spoonful of the mixture, and moisten 
it with a little cold water in a glass or cup, then add 
about two table-spoonfuls more of cold water, or just 
enough to enable you to take it down easily. Take 
the medicine at night before going to bed, and in the 
morning before eating. If you wish to sweeten it you 
may add as much sugar or syrup to each dose as may 
suit your taste. 



The above named herbs, so remarkable for their 
healing qualities, are found in the great valley of the 
Amazon and through most of the valleys of the South 
American mountains. Their wonderful medicinal prop- 
erties are known to the Indian medicine men, and also 
to some of the learned missionaries from Europe, who 
reside in South America. 



4 S SECRET NOSTRUMS 

This particular combination of remedies is called the 
Corrassa Compound, taking its name from the first of 
the four medicines which compose the recipe when it 
is ready for use. 

The Corrassa Compound acts particularly on the 
membranes which line the urinary and genital organs, 
allaying irritation, curing the unhealthy discharges, 
and imparting a healthy tone to the nerves and tissues 
which compose these parts. Its tonic properties give 
strength to the weak and incompetent, while its sooth- 
ing properties keep down over-excitement of the sex- 
ual organs. In gonorrhoea or gleet this medicine 
cures almost like magic. It is also highly beneficial 
for females who suffer from leucorrhoea or whites. 

This remedy from South America (the land of med- 
icines), is entirely a product of the vegetable world. 
No deleterious ingredients enter into its composition; 
no injury to the constitution can possibly occur from 
its use, and no other remedy will so effectually erad- 
icate mercury and other mineral poisons from the body. 
On the human system it acts like a charm. It improves 
the digestion, purifies the blood, gives tone to the 
nerves, prevents the tendency to consumption, imparts 
to the skin a fresh bloom, and gives to the counte- 
nance an animated and brilliant expression. The 
good effects of this medicine in my own case you will 
find related in the following circular, which you will 
please read. (Extract from accompanying circular.) 

Following this, the Rev. Jos. T. Inman tells a plain- 
tive story; how he suffered from the effects of his 



AND SYSTEMS. 49 

youthful indiscretions; how he tried all the best phy- 
sicians in America and Europe; how at last his friends 
managed to transport him in the good ship Reindeer, 
R. I. Marsh, captain, to Para, South America, to spend 
his last hours as a missionary among the heathen. 
While there he devoted his " spare time to the study 
of medicinal plants," and while doing so, " first learned 
the virtues of the Corrassa Compound," and also made 
the acquaintance of a " learned and venerable physi- 
cian named Fernandez Colina, a native of Spain, who 
had studied in Paris, and had traveled extensively 
through South America." — New Idea. 

All of this is intended to frighten and obtain 
money from the hoped-for victim. No such drugs 
as are given above being in existence, the dupe is 
expected to purchase them at an exorbitant price 
from the "Reverend" Inman. 

This wonderful (?) preparation having been analyzed 
by Dr. A. B. Lyons, of Detroit, was found to consist 
of: 

Gentian 15 per cent. 

Licorice root 15 per cent. 

Sugar 50 per cent. 

Sodium bicarb 17^ per cent. 

Cochineal 2 x /z per cent. 

All in fine powder. 



COMPOUND OXYGEN. 

We take the following formula; for compound oxy- 
gen from the Druggists' Circular: 



SO SECRET NOSTRUMS 

i. "Compound Oxygen. Keep dark." A color- 
less aqueous solution of nitrate of ammonia and 
nitrate of lead, the two salts being in nearly equal 
proportions, and together forming about three per 
cent, of the solution. 

2. "Oxygen Aqua;, for digestion. Keep cool." 
One of the grades of Compound Oxygen, a colorless, 
odorless and tasteless liquid, found to be water of a 
commendable degree of purity, quite free from 
sophistications; probably this is the original Com- 
pound Oxygen. 

3. "Compound Oxygen." Dr. Green's, 1880. An 
aqueous solution of nitrate of ammonium with a very 
little nitrate of lead. 

4. " Compound Oxygen." A white crystalline solid, 
obtained for analysis about five years ago, and then 
found to be nitrate of ammonia alone. " Contains all 
the vitalizing elements of the atmosphere, but com- 
bined in a different way." 

5. "Compound Oxygen." Sent out from Boston. 
A colored, fragrant liquid, consisting of alcohol, 
chloroform, and balsam of tolu. 

6. " Compound Oxygen." Dr. O'Leary. Con- 
tains alcohol, chloroform, bitter almond, balsam of 
tolu, and red coloring matter. 

The first two samples (emanating, we think, from 
Drs. Starkey and Palen, of Philadelphia) were sent to 
Prof. Prescott for analysis, by the editor of Good 
Health, who remarked as follows: " It should be 
remembered that this solution is to be used by inhala- 



AND SYSTEMS. 5 I 

tion, a tea-spoonful being added to a small quantity of 
warm water, through which air is drawn by means of 
a glass tube. Neither of the substances contained in 
the solution is volatile at the temperature at which the 
solution is used, so that it is impossible for any medi- 
cinal property whatever to be imparted by this boasted 
remedy, except what comes from the warm water, 
which is itself very healing when used in this way, as 
we have demonstrated in hundreds of cases. Prof. 
Prescott also tested the vapor given off from the pure 
solution when it was boiled, but found nothing more 
than the vapor of water." 

The "Compound Oxygen" is usually accompanied 
by what the manufacturers are pleased to call " Oxy- 
gen Aquae," which they recommend their patients to 
take as an aid to digestion. The analysis of this 
showed it to contain nothing but water. The most 
careful tests revealed nothing else. 

COSMETICS OF THE MARKET. 

In a paper by Dr. James P. Tutt\e,(Medical ficcord), 
the popular opinion that cosmetics, if free from lead, 
are not injurious, is demonstrated to be fallacious. 

An analysis of the most largely sold of these com- 
pounds reveals the following: 

POWDERS. 
Named Preparation. Main Constituents. 

Pearl White Subnitrate bismuth. 

Flake White Carbonate lead. 

Saunders' Face Powder Oxide of zinc. 



- 2 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

„ , •_ n p ftW dpr Bismuth subcarbon. 

SBSX.Sfc Ca Sna an d ,nc 

LOTIONS. 

• , PfPim Corrosive sublimate. 

Circassian Cream Corrosive sublimate 

Kal y dor andpotash. 

A/r-ii «< p ncP c Corrosive sublimate, 

Ml lk of Roses rose-water, and oil 

of almond. 

ENAMELS. 

Laird's Bloom of Youth ^f^^ *** ^ 

French's Grease Paint ^/^ ^ Cal " 

Gouraud's Oriental Cream cfflaw} water. 

Hagan's Magnolia Balm Oxide 

Bradford's Enameline r^hnnaTe lead 

Snow White Oriental Cream Carbonate lead. 

It will thus be seen that mercury enters largely into 
the composition of the lotions and enamels as well as 
zinc The similar behavior of lead, mercury, zmc and 
bismuth with the alkali metals found in the blood 
would in the beginning suggest an analogy in their 
physiological effects. The acute toxic effects of these 
drugs are no less similar, and zinc, and possibly bis- 
muth, may produce the same general effects. 



AND SYSTEMS. 53 

CRAM'S FLUID LIGHTNING. 

Mr. I. L. Fulton {Western Druggist) gives the 
following formula which was represented to him as 
being the original from which Cram's Fluid Lightning 
is prepared: 
Take of— 

Oil mustard 2 fl. dr. 

Oil cajeput 2 fl. dr. 

Oil cloves 2 fl. dr. 

Sassafras . . 2 fl. dr 

Ether 1 fl. oz. 

Tinct. opium 1^2 fl. oz. 

Alcohol 20 fl. oz. 

Mix and filter. 

CUTICURA OINTMENT. 

The much advertised " Cuticura Ointment" has 
been found to consist of a base of petroleum jelly, 
colored green, perfumed with oil of bergamot and 
containing two per cent, of carbolic acid. 

— Northivester?i Lancet. 

CUTICURA RESOLVENT. 

This preparation is said to be: 
Take of— 

Aloes, Socot 1 dr. 

Rhubarb powd 1 dr. 

Iodide potass 36 gr. 

Whisky 1 pt. 

Macerate over night and filter. 

— St. Louis Druggist. 



54 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

DAY'S KIDNEY PAD. 

Take of — 

Black cohosh i oz. 

Powd. gum benzoin i oz. 

Powd. gum guaicum i oz. 

Juniper berries i oz. 

Queen of the meadow i oz. 

Digitalis leaves 2 oz. 

Oil of juniper 1% oz. 

Grind the drugs to a moderately fine powder and 
mix with the oils and gums. Make an oblong pad 
to wear over the kidneys. Said to be useful in kid- 
ney complaints. 

— Kilner's Modern Pharmacy. 

DELLENBAUGH'S COUGH CURE. 

Take of— 

Picrate of ammon 2 gr. 

Chloride of ammon 1 dr. 

Extract of licorice 1 dr. 

Water . 3 fl. oz. 

Mix and form a solution. 

Dose: — One fluid ounce every three hours. 

DERBY LINIMENT. 

Take of— 

Linseed oil 1 gal. 

Aqua ammonia 4 oz. 

Tinct. capsicum 1 oz. 

Oil origanum 1 oz. 

Mix. — K ilner. 



AND SYSTEMS. 55 

DESHLER'S SALVE. 

Take of — 

Resin 1 2 oz. 

Suet 12 oz. 

Yellow wax 12 oz. 

Turpentine 6 oz. 

Linseed oil 7 oz. 

Mix. 

DOUBLE CHLORIDE OF GOLD. 

For drunkenness and the opium habit. The com- 
position is said to be as follows: 
Take of — 

Chloride of ammonium 1 gr. 

Aloin 2 gr. 

Compound tinct. of cinchona. ... 3 fl. oz. 

Water sufficient to make 4 fl. oz. 

— Druggists' Circular. 

DOW'S WHITE LIQUID PHYSIC. 

Take of — 

Sodium sulpnate 8 oz. 

Dissolve in water 24 oz. 

Then add nitro-muriatic acid. . . 2 fl. oz. 

Powdered alum 68 gr. 

Mix. The dose is a table-spoonful in water. A cool- 
ing purgative. 

ECLECTIC STILLINGIA LINIMENT FOR CROUP. 

Take of — 

Oil stillingia 8 dr. 

Oil cajeput 4 dr. 



56 



SECRET NOSTRUMS 

Oil lobelia. 2 dr - 



6 


dr. 


3° 


gr- 


3° 


0-1- 


3° 


gr 


3° 


gr 


3o 


gr 



Alcohol l6 dr - 

Mix. In addition it is sometimes given internally 
in one drop doses. 

EGYPTIAN EYE SALVE 

Is said to be similar to the following: 
Take of— 

White rosin 

Burgundy pitch 

Beeswax. 

Mutton tallow 

Venice turpentine. 

Balsam fir 

Spread on thin leather or cloth and apply to affected 
part. 

ELEPIZONE. 

Below we give a formula which, according to an 
analysis made by our chemist, fairly represents this 
"Wonderful Curative Agent." They say that "Our 
purpose will be served if we can be the means of res- 
cuing the unwary and unfortunate from the unprinci- 
pled hands of quacks, charlatans, empirics, and vendors 
of poisonous patent medicines which ruin thousands 
annually and which makes it the duty of some 
educated person to check their wholesale slaughter." 
This "Wonderful Curative Agent" costs the con- 
sumer only $4-°° P er P int: 



AND SYSTEMS. 57 

Take of — 

Magnesii bromidi 3 dr. 

Sodii bromidi 3 dr. 

Aquas i y 2 oz. 

01. cassiae z minims. 

Syr. simplex sufficient to make 4 oz. 
Ammonical sol. carmine to color. 

— New Idea. 

ELIXIR IODO-BROMIDE OF CALCIUM COM- 
POUND. 

The following is believed to be similar to the elixir 
iodo-bromide of calcium compound: 

Take of — 

Bromide of calcium 256 gr. 

Iodide of sodium 256 gr. 

Iodide of potassium 256 gr. 

Chloride of magnesium 256 gr. 

Comp. fi. ext. of sarsaparilla. . . 2 fl. oz. 

Comp. fl. ext. of stillingia 2 fl. oz. 

Elixir of orange 4 fl. oz. 

Sugar 4 troy oz. 

Water to make 16 fl. oz. 

Dissolve the salts in the water, add the sugar and 
to this syrup add the fluid extracts, previously mixed 
with the elixir of orange. After standing two days, 
filter, adding water to make the measure sixteen fluid 
ounces. 

ELIXIR PINUS COMP. 

I; is evident that this elixir is modeled on the Syrup 
of White Pine Comp. (White Pine Expectorant), 



58 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

introduced some years ago by Mr. C. S. Hallberg. 
On the basis of the claimed formula of the elixir we 
would offer the following formula: 
Take of— 

Fl. ext. white pine bark 6 fl. dr. 

Fl. ext. balm gilead buds .... 5 fl. dr. 

Fl. ext. spikenard 5 fl. dr. 

Fl. ext. wild cherry 4^ fl. dr. 

Fl. ext. ipecac 40 minims. 

Sanguinaria nitrate 2 gr. 

Chloroform 64 minims. 

Morphia acetate 8 gr. 

Ammonium chloride 64 gr. 

Spirit of orange (1 in 8) 30 minims. 

Spirits of coriander (1 in 8) ... 10 minims. 

Spirits of anise 10 minims. 

Alcohol 3 fl. oz. 

Simple syrup 4 fl. oz. 

Water to make 1 pt. 

This elixir should be allowed to stand four or five 
days before filtering. — New Idea. 

ELIXIR THION COMPOUND. 

Take of — 

Powdered rhubarb 5 oz. 

Powdered golden seal 5 oz. 

Sodium hypophosphite 100 gr. 

Sodium sulpho-carbolate 40 gr. 

Alcohol 5 pts. 

Water 40 pts. 

Dissolve the salts in the water and alcohol and with 
this menstruum percolate the powdered rhubarb and 
golden seal. Flavor with peppermint. 

— Indiana Med. Journal. 



AND SYSTEMS. 59 

ELLIMAN'S ROYAL EMBROCATION". 

This is another of the soap emulsions of essential 
oils, and does not differ very materially from the Cen- 
taur Liniment sold in this country, though it is proba- 
bly a better preparation. At any rate, it is more 
pleasing to the senses of sight and smell. 

The bottle is union oval in shape and contains a 
short pint of a creamy white, thick fluid, containing 
soap, fixed alkali, and essential oils with turpentine 
predominating. The following formula gives a close 
duplicate to the proprietary article: 

Take of— 

Oil turpentine y 2 oz. 

Oil thyme ys oz. 

Oil amber, crude. ^ oz. 

Soap 1 30 gr. 

Caustic soda 10 gr. 

Water sufficient i pt. 

To be prepared in the same manner as Mexican 
Mustang Liniment. — New Idea. 

ELY'S CREAM BALM. 

This is a proprietary article, largely advertised in 
the eastern states, and meets with rapid sales and is 
used for catarrh. 

The directions are to dip the little finger into the 
balm and insert up the nostrils, giving two or three 
inhalations. It is as follows: 



6 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

Take of— 

Vaseline i oz. 

Thymol 3 g r - 

Carb. bismuth , 15 gr. 

Oil wintergreen 2 minims. 

— Kilner's Modern Pharmacy. 



ENO'S "FRUIT SALT, FRUIT SALINE OR 
FRUIT POWDER." 

" A household remedy for preventing and curing by 

natural means all functional derangements of the 

liver." 

******** 

"A refreshing and invigorating beverage, most 
invaluable to travelers, emigrants, sailors, residents in 
tropical climates, or anyone exposed to sudden 
changes." 

Prepared only by J. E. Eno, Pomeroy street, New 
Cross Road, London, England. 

This preparation does not differ materially from that 
of Tarrant & Co., but contains no magnesia sulphate. 
The following formula practically duplicates the pre- 
paration : 

Take of— 

Soda bicarbonate 168 parts. 

Tartaric acid 15° P arts - • 

Rochelle salt no parts. 

Mix. 

—New Idea. 



AND SYSTEMS. 6 1 

ESPEY'S CREAM. 

The following formula, said to be similar, is given 
in Druggists' Circular: 

Take of— 

Cydonium i ^ dr. 

Ac. boric 4 gr. 

Glycerine 2 oz. 

Alcohol 3 oz. 

Carbolic acid 10 gr. 

•Cologne water 2 dr. 

Rose-water to make 1 pt. 

Dissolve the boric acid in four ounces of rose-water, 
macerate cydonium in solution for three hours, press 
through straining-cloth, add glycerine, alcohol, co- 
logne and sufficient rose water to make one pint. 
Lastly add the carbolic acid and shake well. 

FAHNESTOCK'S VERMIFUGE. 

This is said to be similar to the patent preparation: 
Take of— 

Castor oil 48 parts. 

Oil worm-seed 48 parts. 

Oil anise 24 parts. 

Oil turpentine 1 part. 

Tinct. myrrh 3 parts. 

Mix. — National Druggist. 



62 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

FALKE'S STJLPHOLINE CREAM. 

It is composed of — 

Very thick mucilage of quince seeds. . .300 parts. 

Glycerine 40 parts. 

Sulpho-carbolate of sodium 20 parts. 

The mucilage is prepared with rose-water, or the 
completed preparation is scented with it, and if the 
finished preparation should not assume a pink tinge 
of itself the same can be given with a little eosine or 
carmine red. This preparation is made by Falke & 
Co., 418 Elm. St., St. Louis, Mo., and is stated to be, 
in the circular around it, a new and most elegant pre- 
paration for chapped hands or any roughness of the 
skin, and for inveterate obstinate eruptions, black 
head, and pimples. — New Idea. 

FEBRILINE. 

Manufactured by the Paris Medicine Co., Paris, 
Tenn. Is offered to the medical profession as the 
long-looked for tasteless preparation of quinine, it 
being distinctly stated on the label that each bottle of 
twelve fluid drams " contains twenty-four grains of 
quinine." 

Dr. R. G. Eccles declares in the Druggists' Circular, 
May, 1889, that he has investigated a preparation sold 
under the name " Febriline or Tasteless Syrup of 
Amorphous Quinine (Lyons)," by the Paris Medicine 
Co., of Paris, Tenn., and finds that it contains no 



AND SYSTEMS. 63 

quinine at all. Instead of quinine, quinidine is used, 
another alkaloid of cinchona bark, which is described 
as follows in the National Dispensatory, edition of 
1879, page 1181: " Quinidia is not officinal. Being 
very slightly soluble, it should be administered in 
mucilage or syrup. Its lack of bitterness renders it 
convenient for administration to children, and its 
imperfect solubility is not disadvantageous when a 
slow or tonic action is alone required." 



FELLOWS' HYPOPHOSPHITES. 

Take of— 

Glucose 1 lb. 

Simple syrup i pt. 

Hypophosphite calcium 128 gr. 

Hypophosphite potassium. 48 gr. 

Sulphate iron 48 gr. 

Sulphate manganese 32 gr. 

Sulphate quinine 14 gr. 

Sulphate strychnine .• . 2 gr. 

Water sufficient. 

Dissolve the calcium and potassium hypophosphites 
in two fluid ounces of warm water. Add to one 
ounce of water three fluid drams of the syrup and dis- 
solve in the mixture, by the aid of heat, the remainder 
of the salts. Mix the solutions and set by a few 
hours, covered, to deposit the sulphate of calcium 
which is formed. Filter into a bottle containing the 
remainder of the syrup, wash the residue with an 
ounce of boiling water, mix filtrate and washings with 



64 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

the syrup; dissolve the glucose in the mixture, and add 
through the filter enough water to make two pints. 
The formula would be improved by substituting for 
the glucose a refined extract of malt like that pre- 
pared by Gehe, in Germany. 

The proportion of the medicinal ingredients in the 
syrup, it is true, is small; I shall not warrant it to per- 
form miracles of cure. It is simply offered as a sub- 
stitute for Fellows' Hypophosphites; whatever thera- 
peutic efficiency that nostrum has, we may count upon 
obtaining equally from this syrup. — A. B. Lyons, in 
Therapeutic Gazette. 



FIRWEIN. 

Dr. Lewis, of Belvidere, gives in the New Idea the 
following formula for Firwein: 

Take of— 

Solution bromine, iodine, and phosphorus, i oz. 

Fir bark in coarse powder i oz. 

White pine bark, coarse powder >2 oz. 

Tamarac bark, coarse powder Y /z oz. 

Dilute alcohol l6 fl - oz - 

Sugar 4 oz. 

Percolate the barks with the dilute alcohol until 13 
fluid ounces are obtained; remove the tannin; add the 
solution bromine, iodine, and phosphorus. Dissolve 
the sugar; allow it to stand 24 hours and filter. 

The solution of bromine, iodine, and phosphorus is 
made thus: 



AND SYSTEMS. 65 

Take of— 

Phosphorus 10 gr. 

Iodine 170 gr. 

Bromine 170 gr. 

Alcohol 1 fl. oz. 

Glycerine sufficient to make 8 fl. oz. 

Dissolve the iodine in the alcohol, then add glycer- 
ine, then bromine and lastly the phosphorus gradually 
in fine shavings. Use great care in adding the phospho- 
rus. 

One ounce of this for the above Firwein. 

FLAGG'S RELIEF. 

Take of— 

Oil of cloves, about 1 dr. 

Oil of sassafras, about 2 dr. 

Spirits of camphor, about \ Y /o, dr. 

Mix. 

— /. /. Pier son, Ph.C. 

FLEURY'S TASTELESS CASCARINE. 

" Harmless. A new remedy for biliousness, cost- 
iveness, dizziness, headache, torpid liver. Manufact- 
ured by the Fleury Medicine Company, Springfield, 
Illinois." Put up in a small wooden cylinder, which 
contains 45 grains of yellowish-white powder. 
Examination proves it to be subnitrate of bismuth 
and calomel, triturated through powdered cane 
sugar. — New Idea. 



66 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

FORD'S BALSAM OF HOARHOT7ND. 

Hoarhound herb 3^ lb. 

Licorice root 3^ lb. 

Water 8 pt. 

Infuse for 12 hours, then strain off six pints. To 
these add: 

Camphor 10 dr. 

Opium 1 oz. 

Benzoin , 1 oz. 

Dried squills 2 oz. 

Oil of anise-seed .... 1 oz. 

Alcohol 12 pt. 

Macerate for one week and then add 3^ pounds of 
honey. — New Idea. 

FOSGATE'S ANODYNE CORDIAL. 

A long, round green bottle contains 1^ fluid 
ounces of a deep yellowish-brown liquid, of bitterish, 
astringent taste, slight gingery flavor, and distinct 
rhubarb taste and smell. From our examination we 
consider the following an identical preparation: 

Take of— 

Fluid extract rhubarb ........ 5 fl. dr. 

Fluid extract rhatany 2 fl. dr. 

Fluid extract ginger 6 minims. 

Paregoric 1 fl. dr. 

Simple syrup 1 fl. dr. 

Dilute alcohol 5 fl. dr. 

Mix. — New Idea. 



AND SYSTEMS. 67 

FREEMAN'S VERMIFUGE OIL. 

Take of— 

Oil of worm-seed ^2 oz. 

Oil of turpentine 2 dr. 

Castor oil 1% oz. 

Pink root fe oz. 

Hydrastin 10 gr. 

Syrup of peppermint J^ oz. 

Dose for a child 10 years old, a teaspoonful three 
times a day, one hour after each meal. If it purges 
too freely, give it less often. 

FRENCH UTERINE PAD. 

Take of— 

Blue cohosh 1 oz. troy. 

Powdered guaiac 2 dr. troy. 

Witch hazel 1 oz. troy. 

Ergot y^ oz. troy. 

Cinchona 1 oz. troy. 

Angelica ^ oz. troy. 

Oil of tansy 4 fl. dr. 

Oil of stillingia 4 fl. dr. 

Oil of lobelia 4 fl. dr. 

Oil of lavender 4 fl. dr. 

Oil of eucalyptus 1 fl. oz. 

Grind the drugs to a moderately fine powder and 
mix with the oils. Make into an oblong bag and 
wear over lower part of abdomen. 

FUNK'S CREAM OF ROSES. 

The National Druggist gives the following for 
Funk's Cream of Roses: 



68 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

Digest one ounce of tragacanth in eight fluid ounces 
of water in the water bath; strain through muslin 
while hot; add to this one ounce each of glycerine 
and triple extract of white rose; color with carmine to 
a light pink. 

Mr. A. Hemenover, of Pipestone, Minn., writes 
regarding Funk's Cream of Roses that he thinks one 
dram, not one ounce, of tragacanth is the amount 
wanted in the formula already given. We ourselves 
think that Mr. H. is about correct. One dram 
of tragacanth in eight ounces of water will make a 
very stiff mixture. — New Idea. 

GARFIELD TEA. 

Manufactured by the Stillman Remedies Co., 
58 West 55th Street, New York. "The Garfield 
Tea, Stillman's Liver and Kidney Cure, is unriv- 
aled " * * It is composed wholly of herbs; a 
natural remedy, potent and harmless. Directions: — 
Place a heaping tea-spoonful of the herbs in a tin cup 
or vessel; add a tea-cupful of boiling water, let the 
cup remain on the fire until the water boils up, then 
cover and remove from the fire; strain and drink 
every night on retiring. The tea may also be made 
by simply pouring boiling water on the herbs, letting 
stand a few hours; drink before retiring. Price of 
small package is 25 cents. 

Our examination showed it to contain chiefly senna 
leaves and crushed couch-grass. There are perhaps 
small amounts of other drugs present; but if so they 
are relatively of little importance. — New Idea. 



AND SYSTEMS. 69 

GARGLING OIL. 



Take of- 



Crude petroleum 13 fl. oz. 

Ammonia water 6 fl. oz. 

Soft soap , 16 fl. oz. 

Benzine 16 fl. oz. 

Crude oil amber 2 fl. oz. 

Tincture iodine 1 fl. oz. 

Water 5 pts. 

Mix the petroleum and soap, add the ammonia 
water, oil of amber, and tincture of iodine, and mix 
thoroughly. Then add the benzine and finally the 
water. — Sahnon's Pharmaceutical Compendium. 

GENUINE WHITE OIL LINIMENT. 

Take of — 

Ammonia carbonate 19 parts. 

Camphor 20 parts. 

Oil turpentine 21 parts. 

Oil origanum 20 parts. 

Castile soap 19 parts. 

Water. . .to make 300 parts (by weight). 

Mix. 

GILES'S IODIDE OF AMMONIA LINIMENT. 

Take of— 

Iodine 1 dr. 

Camphor 1 oz. 

( >U of rosemary Yz oz. 

( >il of lavender ]/i oz. 

Aqua ammonia 4 oz. 

Alcohol 2 pts. 



70 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

Dissolve the iodine in the alcohol; add the camphor 
and then the oils; then add water of ammonia 
enough to remove the dark color of the mixture. 

— Kilner. 



GOLDEN EYE-WATER. 

Take of— 

Sulphate of hydrastia 2 gr. 

Distilled water 1 oz. 

Make solution. 

This is an excellent wash for inflamed and granu- 
lated lids. 

GOMBATJLT'S CAUSTIC BALSAM. 

Gombault's Caustic Balsam states on its labels that 
it is a safe, speedy, and reliable remedy for curb, 
splint, sweeney, poll-evil, grease-heel, capped hock, 
strained tendons, founder, wind-puffs, mange, skin 
diseases, old sores, dropsical affections, inflammations, 
throat difficulties, swellings or ulcerations, lameness 
from spavin, ringbone, and other bony tumors, and 
many other diseases or ailments of horses, cattle, 
sheep, and dogs; will quickly remove all bunches or 
blemishes, without leaving any scar or other injurious 
effects. It can also be reduced with sweet or raw 
linseed oil, and used as a most valuable liniment for 
all kinds of simple lameness, strains, etc. 

The following formula makes a preparation which 
replaces the secret article to good advantage: 



AND SYSTEMS. 7 1 

Take of— 

Croton oil * 4 fi. dr. 

Cotton-seed oil 2 fi. oz. 

Oil of camphor 1 fi. dr. 

Oil of turpentine 2 A. dr. 

Oil of thyme ^ fi. dr. 

Kerosene 4 fi. dr. 

Sulphuric acid 20 minims. 

To the mixture of croton and cotton-seed oils add 
the sulphuric acid, stirring continually, then add the 
other constituents. After standing a few days it 
resembles the original preparation fairly well. 

— Western Druggist. 

GOOCHE'S MEXICAN COUGH SYRTJP. 

" The most certain, speedy, and greatest remedy in 
the world for coughs, colds, consumption, bron- 
chitis, ***** anc j a ]j complaints of a 
pulmonary nature." 

With a view of obtaining an insight into the com- 
position of this highly advertised cough syrup, we 
purchased an unopened bottle, and our chemist, 
H. W. Snow, submitted it to examination. It comes in 
a square, deeply-paneled bottle, with red label and 
black lettering giving uses and directions both in 
German and in English. The bottle contains a full 
three fluid ounces, of a light-brown, slightly fluores- 
cent liquid We proved absence of alkaloids — hence 
morphine, opium, ipecac, and lobelia cannot be 
present — and also proved absence of tartar emetic. It 



72 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

contains large quantities of glycerine, syrup, and tar, 
also wild-cherry bark. The following formula makes 
a preparation scarcely to be distinguished from the 
original preparation: 

Take of— 

Fluid extract wild cherry 2 fi. dr. 

Glycerine 6 fl. dr. 

Simple syrup 2 fi. dr. 

Syrup of tar, sufficient to make 3 fl. oz. 

— New Idea. 
GOOD SAMARITAN COUGH SYRUP. 

Take of— 

Morphise muriat 1 gr. 

Aq. lauro-cerasi 1 dr. 

Syrupi 2 oz. 

Mix. 1 dr. to 2 drs., once or twice daily. 

GOOD SAMARITAN LINIMENT. 

Take of— 

Oil of sassafras 1 fl. oz. 

Oil of hemlock 1 fl. oz. 

Spirits of turpentine 1 fl. oz. 

Tinct. of capsicum 1 fl. oz. 

Tinct. of opium 1 fl. oz. 

Tinct. of myrrh 4 fl. oz. 

Oil of origanum 2 fl. oz. 

Oil of wintergreen 4 fl. dr. 

Gum camphor 2 troy oz. 

Chloroform 1 ^ fl. oz. 

Alcohol 4 pints. 

Mix. — Kilner. 



AND SYSTEMS. 73 

GRANDMOTHER'S OWN COUGH REMEDY. 

One green panel bottle contains 7^2 fluid ounces of 
a brownish-yellow, semi-clear, very sweet, thickish 
liquid, of a tarry odor, and pronounced taste and 
smell of chloroform. From a close examination we 
have ascertained that an exactly similar preparation is 
easily made in the following way: 

Rub well together — 

Liquid tar , 5 gr. 

Fluid ext. hemlock 1 fl. dr. 

Powd. white sugar 2 oz. av. 

and add 

Alcohol y?, fl. oz. 

Water \% fl. oz. 

Molasses 3 oz. av. 

Fluid ext. ipecac 8 minims. 

Mix well and add finally 
Chloroform 1 fl. dr. 

Mix. — New Idea. 

GRAY'S SPECIFIC PILLS. 

Nearly all these specific pills are composed of 
asafcutida with a little camphor and sometimes hops 
or lupuline. The following will approximate the 
"specific:" 

Take of— 

Asafoetida 2 gr. 

Camphor 1 gr. 

Lupuline ]A gr. 

Mix. 



74 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

The "specific action" is in the direction of an 
aphrodisiac. — Western Druggist. 



GREAT LONDON LINIMENT. 

Take of— 

Acetate of morphia iogr. 

Chloroform i oz. 

Olive oil i oz. 

Water of ammonia i oz. 

Mix. 

GREEN'S AUGUST FLOWER. 

The following is said to make a preparation similar: 
Take of— 

Rhubarb 360 gr. 

Golden seal 90 gr. 

Cape aloes 16 gr. 

Peppermint leaves 120 gr. 

Carb. of potash 1 20 gr. 

Capsicum 5 gr. 

Sugar 5 oz. 

Alcohol 3 oz. 

Water 10 oz. 

Ess. of peppermint 20 minims. 

Powder the drugs and macerate with the mixed 
alcohol and water for seven days ; filter and add 
enough diluted alcohol to make the product measure 
one pint. — New Idea. 



AND SYSTEMS. 75 

GREEN MOUNT AIN SALVE. 



Take of- 



Resin 5 lb. 

Burgundy pitch % lb. 

Beeswax % lb, 

Mutton tallow % lb. 

Oil of hemlock 1 oz. 

Balsam fir , 1 oz. 

Oil origanum 1 oz. 

Oil of red cedar 1 oz. 

Venice turpentine 1 oz. 

Oil wormwood y? oz. 

Verdigris (powdered) 1 oz. 

Melt the first articles together, and add the oils; 
having rubbed up the verdigris with a little oil, put 
it in with the other articles, stirring well; then put into 
cold water and work until cold enough to roll. 

GREEN WONDER OIL. 

Take of— 

Terebinth Venet 4 oz. 

Zinci sulphat 15 gr. 

Cupri acetat 1^4 oz. 

Bals. Peru 1 dr. 

01. olivre 1 lb. 

01. lini 1 lb. 

Boil the oils; when warm add the turpentine and 
zinc; when almost cold add the other ingredients and 
stir well. For scalds, burns, wounds, and piles. 



76 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

GRIMAUXT'S INJECTION OF MATICO. 

Manufactured solely by Messrs. Grimault & Co., 
8 Rue Vivienne, Paris, France. 

" The invaluable plant called matico, a native of 
Peru, possesses extraordinary preventive and astrin- 
gent properties. A few injections each of very short 
duration are sufficient to arrest the most inveterate 
discharges." The absence of mineral astringents and 
caustics, though not expressly stated, is intimated in 
the circular which accompanies the preparation. This 
preparation comes in an oval flint-glass bottle with 
white embossed paper wrapper, covered with small 
green prints of monograms of G. C, and with a cut of 
the matico plant in green on the label. The bottle 
contains five fluid ounces of an aromatic liquid, having 
a light bluish tint. Examination shows it to contain 
copper sulphate in solution, in amounts not far from % 
of a grain to the fluid ounce. It is difficult to say 
just what plant has contributed the odor. Certain it 
is, however, that it is not due to the matico pure and 
simple. The matico, if it contained any of it, has 
undergone a considerable change of physical and 
sensible properties. The odor is somewhat suggestive 
of a rose-water which has stood a long time and 
undergone decomposition. A satisfactory and valu- 
able substitute for it could be made by distilling 
about Yz to i fluid dram of fluid extract of eucalyptus 
globulus, with water sufficient to obtain 5 fluid ounces 
of distillate, and then in this dissolve 4 grains of 
sulphate of copper. — New Idea. 



AND SYSTEMS. 77 

GULL'S COUGH MIXTURE. 

Take of— 

Cod liver oil i fl. oz. 

Fresh lemon juice i fl. oz. 

Strained honey i fl. oz. 

Mix. 

Tea-spoonful to table-spoonful three or four times 
daily. 

GUNN'S RHEUMATIC LINIMENT. 

Take of — 

Linseed oil i oz. 

Oil cedar i oz. 

Oil amber i oz. 

Take gum camphor % ounce; rub in a mortar with 
alcohol or sulphuric ether till pulverized, and while 
still damp add 

Olive oil ^2 oz. 

Turpentine ^ oz. 

Laudanum ^ oz, 

after which add the first three articles. 

HAGAN'S MAGNOLIA BALM. 

Said to resemble the genuine. 

Take of— 

Pure oxide of zinc i oz. 

Rose-water 4 oz. 

Glycerine 1 dr. 

Perfume 25 drops. 

— Lillard's Prac. Hints and Formulas. 



78 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

HAINES'S GOLDEN SPECIFIC FOR OPIUM 
HABIT. 

Take of— 

Bayberry-root bark, powdered. . . 16 oz. 

Ginger, powdered 8 oz. 

Capsicum, powdered i oz. 

Mix. 

— Western Druggist. 

DR. B. W. HAIR'S ASTHMA CURE 

Is put up iii a square bottle with truncated corners, 
having the name blown into the glass on the back. 
Dr. Hair says, " The great success which has attended 
the use of this medicine has induced me to publish to 
the world that I have found a certain cure for those 
who are afflicted with the above named disease." It 
is prepared only by Dr. B. W. Hair, Cincinnati, Ohio. 
Price only $3.00 per bottle. Dose for adult is one 
tea-spoonful five times a day. If necessary to over- 
come a paroxysm, it may be taken in table-spoonful 
doses four times a day. It contains 16 fluid ounces, 
of a brownish fluid having an odor of tar. Examina- 
tion shows it to contain notable quantities of iodides, 
but neither bromides nor chlorides. It contains some 
tar, but no alkaloids; consequently no ipecac is 
present. It is also slightly colored with caramel. 
The following formula may be taken as duplicating 
very closely the original article: 



AND SYSTEMS. 79 

Take of— 

Potassium iodide i oz. 

Tar water* 16 fi. oz. 

Caramel sufficient to color light 
brown, or about 30 gr. 

— New Idea. 

The compiler, however, much prefers a formula 
given by Dr. Elmore Palmer in the Medical World 
for April, 1885. Dr. Palmer writes, " I do not know 
where I ran on to this formula, but I do remember 
that at the time I had no doubt of its correctness, 
and recent developments have strengthened this be- 
lief." It is as follows: 

Take of — 

Wine of tar 14 oz. 

Iodide of potassium 220 gr. 

Make a solution. Shake well before taking. 
The wine of tar to be used in the above must be 
made as follows: 

Take of— 

Common pine tar 2 dr. 

Sherry wine 2 pt. 

Pine sawdust ^2 oz. 

Mix the tar with the sawdust so as to form a sort 
of powder; then macerate it for a week with the wine 
and filter through paper. 

• Tar water may be made by same process as U. S. P. 
syrup ol tar, but om'itting sugar. Make same strength per pint 
as U. S. P. syrup of tar. 



8o SECRET NOSTRUMS 

"If this is not just the way Hair's Asthma Cure is 
made, it will certainly do all that is claimed for that 
nostrum, and more too." 

HALL'S CATARRH CURE. 

According to an examination of this preparation, 
made by us, it contains gentian, cardamom, probably 
bitter orange peel and iodide of potash. We took it 
to be the compound tincture of gentian of the British 
Pharmacopoeia, in which was dissolved potassium 
iodide. The following formula makes a preparation 
very closely resembling the original: 

Take of— 

Gentian root in coarse powder., i^ oz. 
Bitter orange peel " " 5 dr. 

Cardamom seeds " " 100 gr. 

Potassium iodide 1 oz. 

Dilute alcohol sufficient. 

Macerate the crude drugs in 12 ounces of dilute 
alcohol for 48 hours, then transfer to a percolator and 
allow to percolate slowly; when the liquid has ceased 
to percolate, pass enough menstruum through the per- 
colator to make the finished product measure 16 
ounces. In this dissolve the potassium iodide. 

— New Idea. 

HALL'S HAIR RENEWER. 
Take of— 

Sulphur precipitated 1 dr. 

Lead acetate 1 dr. 



AND SYSTEMS. SI 

Salt 2 dr. 

Glycerine 8 fl. oz. 

Bay rum 2 fl. oz. 

Jamaica rum 4 fl. oz. 

Water 16 fl. oz. 

HALL'S HYGIENIC TREATMENT. 

Several months since, an advertisement appeared in 
a medical journal of wide circulation, calling the 
attention of its readers to the fact that Dr. Wilford 
Hall's Microcosm had "recently announced a most 
remarkable remedy for disease, without medicine of 
any kind. It is said to be accomplishing wonders. 
The June Microcosm is full of its confirmation." 

This same " June Microcosm " contains this an- 
nouncement of the "discovery:" 

"So important do we regard the daily recurring 
developments of this treatment for the cure of almost 
every known form of disease, as well as for the per- 
manent preservation of health and prolongation of 
life, that we feel it our imperative duty to make every- 
thing else we do secondary to the widest possible pro- 
mulgation of this discovery. 

" Though absolutely knowing the importance and 
even priceless value of this treatment, as we did in its 
personal application to our own shattered constitution 
during forty consecutive years, yet we are free to con- 
fess that we had formed but a slight conception of its 
range of adaptation to the diseases flesh is heir to, pre- 
vious to commencing the distribution of our Health- 
Pamphlet among the afflicted. 



82 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

" Already we could fill scores of these pages with 
the most startling and enthusiastic acknowledgments 
of cures ever read by man, and which have been vol- 
untarily sent to us as grateful tributes of praise for 
the marvelous benefits received." 

There seem to have been continuous and per- 
sistent appeals in behalf of afflicted relatives and 
friends of the readers of his journal, and to enable 
them to obtain its benefits the following scheme is 
developed : 

" The pamphlet which unfolds the new treatment 
we sell invariably at $4.00, by mail, on the purchaser's 
agreeing by ' Pledge of Honor ' not to divulge the 
treatment outside of his or her family, — doctors being 
allowed, in addition, the right of using the treatment 
with their patients. No one should complain of the 
price asked for this information, when they consider 
that, if it is put into practice, it will save the owner of 
the pamphlet from all future bills for ordinary drugs 
and medical attendance, as well as from more than 
nine-tenths of the misery, inconvenience, and losses 
incident to ill-health." 

Dr. Massie, in the Medical World, says in regard to 
this "wonderful discovery:" " I don't know anything 
about Hall's right to use the prefix ' Dr.,' but suspect 
it is merely a trap to get some unwary M. D. to send 
for the June number of his alleged scientific journal, 
and be by it further deceived into sending $4.00 
for his alleged ' Hygienic Method' for the treat- 
ment of disease without the use of medicine. Hall's 



AND SYSTEMS. 83 

method constitutes him a veritable quack. He pub- 
lished many articles in the Microcosm concerning a 
book he was going to write, in which he proposed to 
give a method for treating all the ills that flesh is heir 
to — in fact, to demolish the science and practice of 
medicine at 'one fell swoop.' 

" At last, when he thought he had a sufficient degree 
of curiosity aroused to make his scheme 'go,' he 
came out with the diffident announcement that he 
could not afford to give the results of so many years 
of patient toil and squirting of hot water through a 
rubber syringe for less than $4.00 a 'give;' con- 
sequently he published his secret in pamphlet form, 
and sells it at the above figure, exacting a pledge of 
secrecy from each purchaser. But when a secret is 
put in print, it is a secret no longer, and seeing that 
the ' cat is already out of the bag,' here is his whole 
'scheme:' 

" Disease depends on the absorption of poisonous 
materials from the colon and rectum. Wash these 
out thoroughly with hot water once or twice a day, 
and disease is robbed of its power, death of its terror, 
and the doctor of his occupation. Use lots of water 
(a gallon or two); retain it as long as possible, and then 
'let her go, Gallagher.' This is a sure cure for con- 
sumption and Bright's disease, and minor ailments 
vanish like mists before the sun." 

That " flushing the colon" is the principal part of 
this "Hygienic treatment" is confirmed by publica- 
tions in other journals. The benefit to be derived 



84 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

from "flushings" of this character is, n owe ver, con- 
ceded, and, should any of our readers desire to know 
the best plan of procedure, the following from the 
Medical Standard gives Prof. Etheridge's method of 
administering these "flushings." "The use of along 
rectal tube is unnecessary. The patient should be 
placed in a genu-pectoral position, the shoulders thus 
being lower than the hips. The water will be made 
to descend while anatomically ascending the intestines. 
Patients can be made to receive from one to six pints 
of water in this position without the slightest trouble. 
As one of the effects of the water is to distend the 
colon, and thus press away the walls of the loculi 
from the accumulations, these fall into the current of 
water and are passed out while the water is leaving 
the intestine. The patient will oftentimes complain of 
severe tormina; checking the current of water for a 
few seconds will be followed by complete relief. The 
presence of such a strange foreign body in the 
intestine as hot water, in many cases excites prodigious 
peristaltic activity, thus producing the tormina. 
Plain hot water is all that is necessary to use. The 
water should be hot; cold water, or tepid water, will 
not do. It will produce great suffering. One patient 
took the flushings for a fortnight, and returning vowed 
she never would use any more because they produced 
such terrific cramps. Upon inquiry it was found that 
she was using tepid water. The subsequent use of 
hot water by her was never followed by a cramp. 
Upon many patients this large amount of water acts 



AND SYSTEMS. 85 

as a vigorous diuretic. Where patients suffer as well 
from renal insufficiency, I am in the habit of telling 
them to use a pint or a pint and a half of hot water 
after the flushing has passed away, and to lie upon the 
back with hips elevated for half an hour. Thus 
retaining the water, it will act as a powerful diuretic. 
Some patients can administer this flushing with 
greatest ease, while others will develop a most phe- 
nomenal awkwardness. I am in the habit of telling 
patients to kneel in the bath tub, who are at all awk- 
ward about using these flushings." 

HAMBURG DROPS. 

Take of— 

Powdered Socotrine aloes 1% oz. 

American saffron ^ oz. 

Tincture of myrrh 16 oz. 

Macerate for fourteen days and filter through paper. 

HAMBURG TEA. 

Take of— 

Senna 8 parts. 

Manna 3 parts. 

Coriander 1 part. 

— Dr. Sargent in Med. World. 



86 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

HAMLET'S AGUE PILLS. 

Take of— 

Sulph. quinine 2 dr. 

Powd. myrrh 1 dr. 

Powd. capsicum 1 dr. 

Mix. Make sixty pills. 

HAMLIN'S WIZARD OIL. 

Dr. Douglas, Medical World, gives the following 
analysis of Hamlin's Wizard Oil. The formula dates 
back to 1866, and hence is not a new discovery: 

Take of— 

Alcohol 1 pt. 

Gum camphor 1 oz. 

Oil sassafras /^ oz. 

Tinct. myrrh V-z oz. 

Tinct. capsicum }4 oz. 

Chloroform Y-z oz. 

Mix. I consider this recipe as harmless (and useful 
too) as Hamlin's famous Wizard Oil, and I believe it 
is as perfect an analysis as we can get. 

HANSON'S MAGIC CORN CURE. 

A good corn cure that is similar in every respect to 
Hanson's Magic Corn Cure, is made by taking of: 

Simple cerate 1 oz - 

Salicylic acid I d r - 

Mix intimately. — Indiana Pharmacist. 



AND SYSTEMS. 87 

HARDY'S OINTMENT. 

According to Bouchardat consists of: 

Beef tallow 17 dr. 

Castor oil 6 dr. 

Gallic acid 30 gr. 

Essence vanilla sufficient to flavor. 

HARLEM OIL. 

Take of— 

Flowers of sulphur 2 oz. 

Linseed oil 1 lb. 

Oil of amber 2 oz. 

Oil of turpentine sufficient. 

Boil the sulphur and linseed oil on a gentle fire 
until the sulphur is dissolved; then withdraw from the 
fire, and when the mixture has somewhat cooled, add 
the oil of amber and enough oil of turpentine to bring 
the preparation to the consistence of molasses. 

— National Druggist. 

HARTLEY'S SOUTH AMERICAN CURE. 

During the summer of the present year a man 
calling himself Prof. Hartley occupied a vacant lot in 
Detroit, with a large tent lighted by electric light, 
wheiein he had immense audiences every evening 
during his stay, which lasted some two months. The 
professor gave a short lecture upon a South American 
cure, which he stated to be composed of roots, herbs, 
seeds, barks, and flowers growing exclusively in 
South America, and used for centuries by the 



88 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

Arcanians, a tribe of people who inhabit the 
western slope of the Andes, in the southern part 
of Chili. During his lecture the professor managed 
to give the audience to understand that this wonderful 
medicine performed more cures of indigestion, dys- 
pepsia, catarrh, rheumatism, liver complaints, and 
kidney diseases than any other medicine on the face of 
the earth. Being curious to know something more con- 
cerning the internal constitution of this South American 
Cure, we purchased a bottle, and subjected it to 
an analysis, according to which we find that it consists 
of fluid extract of rhubarb, 8 parts; fluid licorice and 
anise, each 2 parts; fluid capsicum, J/3 part; fluid 
aloes, Yd part; alcohol, 6 parts; water enough to 
make 32 parts, to which a small percentage of sodium 
bicarbonate is added, about 10 grains to the ounce. 
How is this for a South American Cure, which 
country does not furnish to commerce one ingredient 
in the nostrum ? It is asserted that nearly 60,000 
bottles were sold in Detroit in the few weeks that this 
so-called professor held forth. — New Idea. 

HAYDEN'S VIBURNUM COMPOUND 

Is said to have about this composition: 

Take of— 

Cramp bark 4 dr. 

Black haw 2 dr. 

Skunk cabbage 2 dr. 

Syrup 4 dr. 

Tinct. cinnamon enough to make . 4 oz. 

Mix, and after 24 hours filter. — Western Druggist. 



AND SYSTEMS. 89 

HEATON' S CUBE FOR HERNIA. 

Dr. Heaton, of Boston, for a number of years 
treated cases of hernia by a method peculiar to him- 
self. The doctor amassed a fortune and was success- 
ful in many cases in obtaining a radical cure. The 
process he kept secret for along time, but it was found 
to consist of the injection of a solution of oak bark 
between the hernial sac and the skin, in the inguinal 
canal. The object was to excite inflammation around 
the sac, and thus cause the canal to be narrowed. 
Heaton's instructions were as follows: 

" Invaginate the right forefinger in the scrotum and 
find the external abdominal ring; then with the left 
forefinger press perpendicularly upon the integument 
directly over this ring, and use sufficient force to, if 
possible, press the integument with the finger directly 
into the ring. The left forefinger being at or in the 
ring, the spermatic cord and the sac, if in the way, 
are to be pushed to one side, so that nothing may 
remain between the external pillar of the ring and the 
finger, except the integument and subjacent superficial 
fascia." 

The instrument is then passed quickly into the 
canal, the fluid injected, and firm pressure made for a 
few minutes to prevent the escape of the fluid from 
the canal. 

The adaptation of the modern aseptic system to the 
Heaton method is thus given by Dr. Shimwell, of 
Philadelphia, in the Medical World: 



90 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

Heaton's method is first to cleanse the parts anti- 
septically with soap, ether, and the bichloride of 
mercury. He then uses a special syringe, the needle 
of which is sharp and has two small openings on the 
side, one-eighth of an inch from the end. He now 
takes nineteen minims of a solution, to which is added 
one drop of carbolic acid. This solution is made by 
mixing over a hot bath extract of quercus alba, four- 
teen grains; fluid extract of quercus alba, one-half 
fluid ounce. He also adds one-eighth of a grain of 
sulphate of morphia to each injection. 

His procedure of operation is to elevate the 
patient's hips on a pillow, so that gravity carries the 
bowel away from the canal and ring. The finger is 
now introduced into the canal, invaginating the tissue 
until the finger reaches the internal ring. The finger 
is held here at the margin of the ring. The syringe is 
now introduced perpendicular to the plane of the 
abdomen, and pushed firmly down until it is recog- 
nized by the finger in the invagination. It is now in 
front of the internal ring. The invagination finger 
is withdrawn slightly, so the skin will not be punctured 
as the needle is inserted well into the tissues of the 
canal. The needle is outside of the peritoneum. 
Then about three minims of the fluid is injected. The 
needle is then inserted half an inch to the right, left, 
above and below the ring, and a similar quantity 
injected with each puncture. Now the finger is 
withdrawn, the needle following after until the ex- 
ternal ring is reached; then the needle is withdrawn. 



AND SYSTEMS. 9 1 

The balance of the fluid is injected in the canal. The 
instrument is then withdrawn entirely, a compress of 
iodoform gauze is placed ovei the puncture, then 
covered with bichloride cotton, and a spica bandage 
applied. The patient keeps on his back ten days or 
two weeks, and is not allowed even to sit up. The 
pain is slight and the inflammation mild. Within a 
few days induration is noticed, and increases, and 
embryonic cells in surrounding tissue formed. 

A truss with a soft pad should be worn for at least 
six months after. If failure ensues, the operation may 
be repeated. 

Dr. DeGarmo, in the Medical Record, gives as the 
result of seven years' experience in this method the 
following advantages: 

i. Freedom from danger. 

2. Cure in forty-five per cent, of unselected, seventy- 
five of selected cases. 

3. Control of many cases not amenable to treat- 
ment by the truss. 

4. Improvement in nearly every case. 

5. Children nearly always cured. 

HEISKELL'S TETTER OINTMENT. 

Heiskell's Tetter Ointment, according to the 
Western Druggist, is said to be simply cerate of sub- 
acetate of lead. 



92 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

HELMBOLD'S BTJCHTJ. 

Said to resemble the genuine. 

Take of— 

Short buchu 9 oz. 

Uva ursi 4^ oz. 

Licorice root 10 dr. 

Macerate in 9 pints of boiling water, strain, and 
add: 

Caramel 2 oz. 

Molasses 8 oz. 

Mix well, and add: 

Fluid extract cubeb 5 oz. 

Alcohol 2 pt. 

Oil peppermint 1 oz. 

Water sufficient to make 1 2 pt. 

— Lillard's Prac. Hints and Formulas. 

HELMBOLD'S JELLY OF GLYCERINE AND ROSES. 

Our examination shows the following to be the 
formula for the above- 
Take of— 

Tragacanth 1 dr. 

Triple ext. of rose 6 drops. 

Glycerine 2 fl. oz. 

Water 4 fl. oz. 

— New Idea. 

HIMROD'S ASTHMA CURE. 

Dr. Geo. Covert, of Clinton, Wis., in a recent arti- 
cle, says in regard to this preparation: 



AND SYSTEMS. 93 

"A one-time schoolmate and friend of mine cured 
himself of asthma with his own remedy. He went to 
Europe, introduced his asthma remedy to the notice 
of Kaiser William, who used it with benefit and gave 
it his royal commendation. Our friend's fortune was 
made and Himrod's Asthma Remedy is still on the 
market." 

This is said to be the formula: 

Take of — 

Powdered lobelia 2 oz. 

Powdered stramonium leaves 2 oz. 

Powdered nitrate of potash 2 oz. 

Powdered black tea 2 oz. 

Sift well and mix. 

HINKLEY'S BONE LINIMENT. 
Take of— 

Oil of wormwood 40 minims. 

Oil of hemlock 2 dr. 

Oil of thyme 2 dr. 

Oil of turpentine 4 dr. 

Fl. ext. of capsicum 1 dr. 

Alcohol to make 4 oz. 

Mix. 

HOLLO WAY'S OINTMENT. 

The formula for this preparation is said to be: 

Take of — 

Yellow wax 10 parts. 

White wax 10 parts. 

Turpentine 25 parts. 



94 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

Lard 5° P arts - 

Sweet oil 75 P arts - 

Mix. 

HOLLO WAY'S PILLS. 

Take of— 

Aloes 2 dr, 

Rhubarb i dr 

Capsicum 20 gr, 

Saffron 5 S r 

Sulphate of soda 5 gr 

Make one hundred pills. 

HOLMES'S LIVER PILLS. 

Take of— 

Colocynth pulp 1 oz. 

Gamboge • 1 oz - 

Scammony - 1 oz. 

Barb, aloes 2 oz. 

Castile soap % oz. 

Oil peppermint 2 fl. dr. 

Water sufficient. 

Make into three-grain pills, of which from two 
to three are an average cathartic. These pills for- 
merly had a big reputation in the city of Pitts- 
burgh, Pa. 

HOP BITTERS. 

The following is said to be the formula: 
Take of— 

Tinct. of hops Y* oz. 

Tinct. of buchu 3 dr. 



AND SYSTEMS. 95 

Tinct. of senega 3 dr. 

Podophyllin (dissolved in spirits of 

wine) iogr. 

Tinct. of cochineal 20 drops. 

Distilled water sufficient to make 1 pt. 

Mix. — Medical World. 



HOSTETTER'S BITTERS. 

Take of— 

Sugar 2 lb. 

Calamus root 2 lb. 

Orange peel , 2 lb. 

Peruvian bark 2 lb. 

Gentian root 2 lb. 

Columbo root 2 lb. 

Rhubarb 8 oz. 

Cinnamon 4 oz. 

Cloves 2 oz. 

Diluted alcohol 4 gal. 

— The Medical Bulletin. 



HUNTER'S RED DROPS. 

Take of— 

Corrosive sublimate 10 gr. 

Muriatic acid 12 drops. 

Rub in a glass mortar and gradually add: 

Compound spirits of lavender. . . 1 oz. 
Dose: — Five to twenty drops in wine, or spirits and 
water. 

A powerful alterative in syphilitic diseases. 



96 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

HTJNYADI JANOS WATER. 

Take of— 

Sulphate of lime 1% oz. 

Glauber salts 24 oz. 

Epsom salts 26 oz. 

Sulphate of potassa 1 dr. 

Water 10 gal. 

Mix, and charge with gas. 

INJECTION BROU. 

The preparation comes in a bottle of very peculiar 
construction, made on a private mould, and contains 
short 7^ fluid ounces of a slightly yellowish fluid 
containing a reddish-brown sediment in suspension. 

Analysis shows the presence of alcohol, acetic acid, 
sulphuric acid, traces of an alkaloid, and a tannin- 
bearing drug. Just what drug has yielded the tan- 
nin it is impossible to say. It is not any of the ordi- 
nary tannin-bearing drugs, as none of them yield 
such a colored precipitate with the lead and zinc 
salts. The essential parts, however, are the mineral 
astringents and alcohol, and a preparation which is 
substantially the same, may be made by the following 
formula: 
Take of— 

Tinct. catechu (1 in 16) 1 dr. 

Cocaine muriate iogr. 

Lead acetate iogr. 

Zinc sulphate iogr. 



AND SYSTEMS. 97 

Water 6% fl. oz. 

Alcohol y 2 fl. oz. 

Dissolve the mineral salts each in y 2 ounce of water 
and mix them. Dilute the tinct. catechu with 4 fluid 
ounces of water; add the minerals and then the solution 
of cocaine muriate in an ounce of water; lastly the 
alcohol and water to make 7^2 fluid ounces. The color 
of Injection Brou may be fairly well simulated by using 
a small amount of magenta. — New Idea. 

IODIA. 

Kilner gives a formula as follows, which is stated 
to make a preparation to all intents and purposes 
identical to the Iodia of Battle & Co.: 

Take of— 

Fl. ext. stillingia 3 oz. 

Fl. ext. prickly ash 1 oz. 

Fl. ext. saxifraga , ^ oz. 

Fl. ext. yellow parilla J4 oz. 

Fl. ext. blue flag x / 2 oz. 

Potassium iodide 256 gr 

Iron pyrophosphate 256 gr. 

Dilute phosphoric acid ^ oz. 

Dissolve the potassium iodide in the mixture of 
fluid extracts, and the pyrophosphate in two ounces 
of hot water. Mix the two solutions gradually, lastly 
adding the phosphoric acid. — New Idea. 

JAYNE'S EXPECTORANT. 

The following is given in New Idea as approximat- 
ing this preparation: 



98 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

Take of— 

Syrup squills « 2 oz. 

Tinct. tolu 1 y 2 oz. 

Tinct. camphor 1 dr. 

Tinct. digitalis 1 dr. 

Tinct. opium 2 dr. 

Wine ipecac 2 dr. 

Antimon. and pot. tart 2 gr. 

Mix. 

JAYNE'S ALTERATIVE 

Is said to be similar to the following: 

Take of— 

Tartar emetic 4 gr. 

Spirits of camphor 1 fl. dr. 

Fluid extract of ipecac 4 drops. 

Laudanum 2 fl. dr. 

Tinct. of lobelia 1 fl. dr. 

Syrup of tolu 12 fl. dr. 

Tinct. of digitalis 1 fl. dr. 

Syrup of squills 2 fl. oz. 

— National Druggist. 

KASKINE 

Is a preparation sold in small flat green-glass 
vials, each containing about 20 grains of a white, 
granular powder, freely soluble in water, of a sweet 
taste and without any odor. Claimed by its manu- 
facturers to stand " unequaled and unrivaled in the 
•world of science as the only medicine that can 
•destroy the germs that cause each particular disease 
and restore perfect health." 



AND SYSTEMS. 99 

Dr. Fr. Hoffman says: 

" The chemical examination by the writer, of 
several vials of Kaskine bought from different leading 
drug firms in New York City, proves the fact that 
Kaskine is nothing more nor less than granular sugar 
of the fine grain and grade as used in homoeopathic 
pharmacy, without even any infinitesimal medicatio?i 
or flavoring whatsoever." 

KEATINGPS COUGH LOZENGES. 

Take of— 

Lactucarium 7^ gr. 

Ipecac s 3 A gr. 

Squills 3 gr. 

Ext. licorice 3 dr. 

Mucil. tragacanth sufficient. 

Mix and divide into lozenges each containing 
19 gr. 

KELLOG'S RED DROPS. 

Take of— 

Spirit of camphor 2 oz. 

Spirit of origanum ^ oz. 

Oil of sassafras % oz. 

Oil of turpentine z^ oz. 

Color tincture (about) 4 oz. 

Mix. — Pharmacist and Chemist. 

KENDALL'S SPAVIN CURE 

Is put up in a twelve-sided amber bottle, which 
contains s l / 2 ounces of a clear, brownish-red liquid. 



IOO SECRET NOSTRUMS 

It contains camphor, and a heavy petroleum oil, 
turpentine, alcohol, free iodine, and oil of rosemary. 

The following formula makes a preparation sub- 
stantially the same as the proprietary liniment: 

Take of— 

Turpentine i fl. oz. 

Alcohol 2 fl. oz. 

Camphor 240 gr. 

Iodine 25 gr. 

Petroleum oil (heavy) ^ fl. dr. 

Oil of rosemary 1 fl. dr. 

In the mixed oils (without filtering) dissolve the 
camphor and the iodine. — New Idea. 

KENNEDY'S MEDICAL DISCOVERY. 

Take of— 

Sneezewort 1 oz. 

Bitter-root 4 dr. 

Mix and add — 

Boiling water 8 fl. oz. 

Proof spirits 10 fl. oz. 

Licorice root 4 dr. 

Macerate for 48 hours, then add — 

White sugar 4 oz. 

Tinct. gaultheria 1 oz. 

— King's American Dispensatorx . 

KENNELE'S VEGETABLE WORM SYRUP. 

Upon examination we find that it is put up in 
an oval green bottle, containing 4^2 fluid ounces of 
an opaque, yellowish-brown, thin, syrupy liquid of 



AND SYSTEMS. 101 

slightly acid reaction. According to our examina- 
tion each bottle contains: 

Santonine 27 gr. 

Oil sassafras 1 minim. 

Alcohol 2 fl. oz. 

Fl. ext. pink-root 2 fl. oz. 

Fl. ext. dandelion ^ fl. oz. 

Fl. ext. golden seal % fl. oz. 

Molasses >2 fl. oz. 

The santonine in a finely triturated condition. 

— New Idea. 

KEPHALGINE. 

A remedy for headache, consists of: 

Antipyrine 5 parts. 

Roasted coffee 5 parts. 

Caffeine 2 parts. 

Salicylate of sodium 2 parts. 

Mix. — American Journal of Pharmacy. 



KICKAPOO INDIAN OIL. 

A round, green bottle, about four inches long, holds 
and contains full ten fluid drams of a clear, light 
straw-colored thin liquid, which readily turns white on 
the addition of water, and is composed, about like 
hundreds of its kind flooding the market, of — 

Camphor ]/z oz. troy. 

Oil turpentine 1 fl. dr. 

Oil peppermint y 2 fl. dr. 

Oil wintergreen ^4 fl. dr. 



I02 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

Tinct. capsicum ]/z fl. oz. 

Alcohol sufficient to make i pt. 

— New Idea. 

KING'S NEW DISCOVERY. 

The following is said to represent its composition: 

Take of— 

Sulph. morphia 8 gr. 

Fl. ex. ipecac V? dr. 

Chloroform 60 drops. 

Tinct. white pine 2 oz - 

Water 7 oz. 

Carbonate of magnesia % oz. 

Sugar 14 oz. 

Rub the magnesia with one ounce of the sugar in a 
mortar, and triturate with the tincture of white pine 
and the fluid extract of ipecac; gradually add the 
water, and triturate with the mixture in the mortar. 
Filter and dissolve the morphia sulphate in the fil- 
trate; mix the chloroform with the rest of the sugar 
in a bottle and add the liquid above. Keep in a tight 
vessel. - New Idea - 

KITCHELL'S LINIMENT. 

Take of— 

Water ammonia l P art - 

Water 3 parts. 

Caramel to color. 

MiXi —Western Druggist. 



AND SYSTEMS. IOJ 

KLINE'S NERVE RESTORER. 

Dr. R. H. Kline's Great Nerve Restorer is made 
from the following formula, which is well known as 
introduced by a celebrated European M. D.: 

Take of— 

Bromide of ammonia 3 dr. 

Bromide of potassium 3 oz, 

Bicarb, of potassium 80 gr. 

Tinct. columbo 6 fl. dr. 

Water 6 fl. oz. 

Mix. Dose: — Tea-spoonful thrice daily in water. 

— Dr. Wade in Med. World. 

KREYDER'S AGUE PILLS. 

Take of — 

Sulph. quinia 20 gr. 

Dover's powder 10 gr. 

Sub. cart), iron 10 gr. 

Mix with mucilage of acacia and form twenty pills. 

Dose: — Two each hour, commencing five hours 
before the chill should set in. Then take one night 
and morning until all are taken. 

KTJMYSS. 

Mr. H. W. C. Martin, of Chicago {Western Drug- 
gist), in quite an extended experience in the manu- 
facture of Kumyss, gives the following details for its 
preparation: 



I0 4 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

Fresh milk 14 gal. 

Skimmed milk 28 gal. 

Water 6 gal. 

Sugar, granulated 10 lb. 

Milk sugar 2 lb. 

Yeast, 1 package, or about ^ oz. 

These portions were selected for the reason that 
cow's milk contains, according to the best author- 
ities, about 4 per cent, of fat, while mare's milk con- 
tains only about 1 per cent. By using skimmed milk 
and water, the 4 per cent, is reduced to the desired 1 
per cent. Again, the addition of water has reduced 
the phosphates in cow's milk to near the desired 
amount present in mare's milk, while the subtraction 
of casein from the skimmed milk, together with the 
addition of water, reduced the amount of casein from 
A y 2 or 5 per cent, to about the 1/2 or 1^ per cent, 
contained in mare's milk. Take the skimmed milk, 
and by aid of a steam bath raise it to the temperature 
of 90 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Add one-third of 
the yeast, first dissolved in a small quantity of water, 
and keep it at this temperature until the casein sepa- 
rates into a thick mass. Pour off the whey and strain 
it through muslin into a 40-gallon cask already con- 
taining the fresh milk. Now add the balance of the 
yeast dissolved in a small quantity of the milk, and 
lastly the water with the sugar dissolved in it. The 
cask should be made of oak, with a wooden faucet 
just below the lower hoop, to which is attached a 
rubber hose about 15 feet long and one-half inch in 
diameter, so as to allow it to go into the neck of a 



AND SYSTEMS. 105 

quart champagne bottle. Abouc four inches from the 
end there is attached to the tube an arrangement sim- 
ilar to those we see on fountain syringes, whereby the 
flow can be controlled at will. The Kumyss is now 
stirred once in about five or ten minutes while the 
bottling is proceeded with. Place the bottles in rows 
convenient to the cask, and fill to within three inches 
and a half to four inches of the top. When all are 
filled, soak some straight wide corks of proper size in 
lukewarm water, and cork thoroughly with the aid of 
a corking machine, and so that the corks do not pro- 
trude more than one-quarter of an inch above the 
neck. Tie with good, stout twine, the same as you 
would a bottle of citrate of magnesia, and lay on their 
sides. The temperature of the room should be about 
70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and the bottles should 
be shaken once in five or six hours. At the end of 15 
or 18 hours fermentation will have perceptibly begun, 
and they are ready for the ice-box. The temperature 
of the box should be kept under 55 degrees Fahren- 
heit to allow a slow and even fermentation to go on. 
If kept below this point, Kumyss does not need any 
more shaking after it is in the ice-box. It is only too 
high a temperature and rapid fermentation which 
causes the lumps and grittiness which should be 
entirely absent in a good Kumyss. 



106 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

LAC VIRGINIS. 

COSMETIC FOR SKIN. 

Take of— 

Tinct. of benzoin 10 parts. 

Rose-water 150 parts. 

Mix. A tea-spoonful of this mixture, added to an 
ordinary hand-basin of water, makes an admirable 
cosmetic for the skin of the face and hands. 

LALLEMAND'S SPECIFIC. 
Take of— 

Sulph. quinia 1 dr. 

Sulph. cinchona 1 dr. 

Ext. colocynth 4 dr. 

Wine colchicum seeds 8 oz. 

Tinct. verat. viride 1 oz. 

Dilute alcohol 8 oz. 

Sherry wine 31 oz. 

Mix. Dose: — One tea-spoonful. 

— National Druggist. 

LANGELL'S ASTHMA REMEDY. 

Take of— 

Powdered belladonna leaves. . 1 part. 
Powdered nitrate of potash. . . 10 parts. 
Mix. 

LATJBACH'S ECLECTIC LINIMENT. 

An analysis of a bottle of this preparation made by 
us shows that it is a light, amber-colored liquid, put up 



AND SYSTEMS. 107 

in a so-called 4-ounce panel bottle (holding about 
3 fluid ounces) with rubber cork. 

We formulate a similar liniment as follows: 

Take of— 

Oil of turpentine 60 parts. 

Tincture of arnica flowers. . 120 parts. 

Stronger water of ammonia. 120 parts. 

Soap liniment 900 parts. 

Oil of sassafras 6 parts. 

Oil of thyme 2 parts. 

Alcohol 240 parts. 

Total parts (by measure) . . . 1448 

— New Idea. 

LAVARRE'S SURE CURE. 

Upon examination we find that it is in a white 
glass, oblong, square-panel bottle, holding 2^ fluid 
ounces, of a rather turbid, deep pinkish-red liquid, with 
a sweetish, saline, aromatic taste, the composition of 
which is about as follows: 

Fl. ext. poke berries 80 minims. 

Fl. ext. sassafras 40 minims. 

Liquid ammonia, caustic 5 minims. 

Sodium bromide 20 gr. 

Alcohol Y?. fl. oz. 

Oil of peppermint 1 minim. 

Powdered cochineal 4 gr. 

White sugar 3 dr. troy. 

Water (enough to make) a fl. oz. 

The bottle is enclosed in a straw-board pipe, and 
wrapped in a thick, light-blue wrapper, upon which is 



108 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

stated " Health is Wealth," with the portrait of an old 
gentleman with clerical tie, high forehead, and sparse 
white locks. The wrapper states it is a sure cure for 
neuralgia, rheumatism, toothache, headache, back-ache, 
and all diseases produced by any derangement of the 
nervous system. A special guarantee is printed on 
the wrapper that it contains no morphine, opium, 
chloral hydrate, or other poisonous drugs. Another 
paragraph states that the contents of the bottle con- 
tain the virtues of two pounds of the choicest barks 
and herbs. — New Idea. 

LAVILLES'S GOUT CURE. 

This patent preparation is said to have the following 
composition: 

Take of— 

Quinine 7.7 gr. 

Cinchonine 9.3 gr. 

Colocynthin 3 . 8 gr. 

Lime salts 7 . 6 gr. 

Coloring matter 4.6 gr. 

Alcohol lYi fl. dr. 

Water 2^ fl. dr. 

Port wine 1 234 . o fl. dr. 

— Natiofial Druggist. 

LEE'S ANTI-BILIOUS PILLS. 

Take of— 

Calomel 30 gr. 

Jalap 60 gr. 



AND SYSTEMS. IO9 

Gamboge 12 gr. 

Tartar emetic 3 gr. 

Beat into a mass and make into 24 pills, mix with 
gum arabic or extract of dandelion. 

Dose: — 3 to 5 pills as a purgative. 

By substituting podophyllin in the place of calomel 
(same quantity) it makes a safer and better pill for 
common use. Dose: — 2 to 3 pills. 

LEE'S GRAVEL REMEDY. 

Take of— 

Sapo. Venet 4 oz. 

Sal. nitre pulv 4 oz. 

Oil juniper 4 oz. 

Gum arabic pulv 1 oz. 

Sal. absynth 1 oz. 

Beat into a mass. 

Dose: — One pill three times a day on an empty 
stomach. 

Keep the mass entirely excluded from the air, in a 
bladder or wide mouth bottle covered with oiled silk. 
Pills to be made of the size of buck shot. Drink dan- 
delion tea for a constant drink — "nothing else." 

LEE'S LITHONTRIPTIC. 

Take of 

Powdered castile soap 2 oz. 

Carbonate of potassium 4 dr. 

Nitrate of potassium 2 dr. 

Powdered gum arabic 5 dr. 

Oil of juniper 2 fl. dr. 

Mix. — Druggists Circular. 



IIO SECRET NOSTRUMS 

LIEBIGPS CORN CUKE. 

The following formula for Liebig's Corn Cure is 
said to be very effective: 

Take of— 

Extract of cannabis indica ... 5 parts. 

Salicylic acid 30 parts. 

Collodion 240 parts. 

Mix until dissolved. Apply with a camel-hair 
pencil four consecutive nights and mornings to form 
a thick coating. The collodion protects the corn 
from irritation and rubbing, while the extract of 
cannabis indica acts as an anodyne, and the salicylic 
acid dissolves and disintegrates the corn. 

For relieving the pain of corns the following has 
been recommended: 

Take of— 

Powdered sugar of lead 1 dr. 

Powdered myrrh 1 dr. 

Powdered camphor 1 dr. 

Powdered litharge 1 dr. 

Sweet oil and saxoline, of each. . . sufficient. 

Make the powders into stiff paste with sweet oil, 
then add saxoline to bring up to the consistency of an 
ointment. It is stated that this application gives an 
almost instant relief. 

The following is a formula sometimes used to dis- 
solve and soften corns: 



AND SYSTEMS. Ill 

Take of— 

Solution of potassa i dr. 

Tincture of iodine i dr. 

Glycerine 4 dr. 

Water sufficient to make 1 oz. 

LAFAYETTE MIXTURE. 

This is a gonorrhoea mixture, much used in this 
section of the country. In New York it is very 
generally used in the hospitals and dispensaries. Its 
formula is as follows: 

Take of— 

Balsam of copaiba ^ fl. oz. 

Spirit of nitrous ether y 2 fl. oz. 

Comp. spirit of lavender y 2 fl. oz. 

Solution of potassa, 1 fl. dr. 

Mucilage of acacia, enough to 

make 4 fl. oz. 

Mix the balsam with the solution of potassa, then 
add the two spirits. Put the requisite amount of 
mucilage into a bottle, pour the other mixture on top, 
and mix the whole by agitation. 

In some institutions it is customary to use equal 
volumes of mucilage and syrup, instead of mucilage 
alone. — A??ierican Druggist. 

LINDSEYS PAIN CURE. 

"This is an excellent application for pain of any 
kind, or in any place, and especially for neuralgia 
and inflammatory rheumatism." 



II2 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

I obtained this from Mr. G. W. Snyder, of Des 
Moines, Iowa, the present manufacturer, who very 
readily gets 50 cents for % of an ounce. 

Alcohol 4 oz. 

Ethereal oil of wine 4 dr. 

No. six 4 oz. 

Spts. camphor 4 oz. 

Oil hemlock 2 oz. 

Oil cinnamon x o r - 

Oil sassafras x oz. 

Oil cloves 4 dr. 

Ether 20Z - 

Chloroform 2 oz - 

Sweet spirits of nitre 4 oz. 

Chloral hydrate 2 oz - 

Lard oil 4 0Z. 

Oil cedar 4 oz. 

Oil origanum 1 oz - 

Oil wintergreen 2 ar - 

Mix. It may be taken internally in doses of 5 to 60 

drops. 

The number six is tincture of capsicum and myrrh, 

made double strength. The spirits of camphor is 

also made double strength by the aid of chloroform. 

— Dr. McCann in Medical World. 

LINIMENT FOR MAN AND BEAST. 

Take of— 

Powdered myrrh 1 oz - 

Powdered aloes x oz - 

Balsam fir ' fl tr0y 0Z> 

Alcohol 8fl - oz - 

Mix —National Druggist. 



AND SYSTEMS. II3 

LIQUOR CARBONIS DETERGENS. 

Take of — 

Quillaya saponaria, (soap bark) . 4 lb. 

Alcohol (65 per cent.) 2 gal. 

Macerate and filter: 

Tinct. (as above) 100 parts. 

Coal tar 50 parts. 

Mix. After eight days, filter. Used externally in 
skin diseases. 

LISTERINE. 

The following formula is said, by a correspondent 
in Western Druggist, to closely approximate: 
Take of — 

Acid boric 2 dr. 

Acid benzoic 2 dr. 

Dissolve in water. 64 oz. 

Fluid ext. of baptisia 4 dr. 

Menthol 2 dr. 

Oil eucalyptus 3 dr. 

Oil gaultheria % dr. 

Dissolve in alcohol 64 oz. 

Mix the two solutions and filter through magnesium 
carbonate. The use of fluid extract baptisia prevents 
a colorless preparation, in which respect it differs from 
the original. This can only be avoided by distilling 
the baptisia with water, and the distilled extract thus 
obtained used instead of the fluid extract. 

The following is given in New Idea, March, 1884, 
as a formula for Listerine, after an examination of that 
article: 



114 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

Mix well together — 

Benzoic acid 64 gr. 

Borax 64 gr. 

Adding: 

Boric acid 1 28 gr. 

Dissolving the mixed powders by means of slight 
heat in 6 fluid ounces distilled water. 

Dissolve also: 

Thymol 20 gr. 

In alcohol 8 fl. oz. 

Then adding to this solution: 

Eucalyptol 5 minims. 

Oil of wintergreen 5 minims. 

Oil of peppermint 3 minims. 

Oil of thyme 1 minim. 

Mix the watery and alcoholic solutions, and finally 
add enough water to make, after standing over night 
and filtering, 16 fluid ounces. Clear the liquid up if 
necessary with the smallest possible amount of 
alcohol. 

LITTLE HOP PILLS. 

" For headache, biliousness, weak nerves, dyspepsia, 
constipation, deranged liver, and general debility." 
Manufactured by the Hop Pill Manufacturing Com- 
pany, New London, Conn. Weight of 12 pills = 16 
grains. They contain oil of peppermint, podophyllin, 
rhubarb in small quantities, and probably extract of 
colocynth. Sugar coated. 



AND SYSTEMS. 115 

Allowing four or five grains for sugar coating, we 
suggest the following as a formula closely resembling 
the original: 

Take of— 

Podophyllin 3 gr. 

Ext. colocynth 6 gr. 

Oil of peppermint 1 drop. 

Ext. rhubarb sufficient. 

Mix, divide into 12 pills and coat heavily with 
sugar. — Neiu Idea. 

LOCOCK'S PULMONIC WATERS. 

Take of— 

Sugar 10 dr. 

Starch 10 dr. 

Gum arabic 5 dr. 

Lactucarium 75 gr. 

Equal parts each of 
Vinegar of squills, 
Oxymel of squills, 
Wine of ipecac. 

The last three are to be mixed and evaporated to 
one-sixth the original bulk and added to the pow- 
ders in quantity sufficient to make a mass of proper 
consistence. This is to be divided into lozenges of 
seven and one-half grains each. 

LOWNDES'S MAGIC CUE AM. 

Take of— 

Hydrarg. ammoniat 1 part. 

Zinc oxide 3 parts. 



Il6 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

Must be thoroughly incorporated in powder; suffi- 
cient glycerine and lard then added to make a stiff 
cream. 

For application to venereal ulcers. 

LOW'S MAGNETIC LINIMENT. 

Low's Magnetic Liniment is a thin, reddish liquid, 
put up in panel bottle (containing three fluid ounces) 
with a rubber cork. It contains according to our 
analysis, oil of turpentine, capsicum, camphor, 
ammonia, oil of sassafras, and alcohol. The follow- 
ing formula furnishes a liniment nearly identical in 
contents, character, and color: 

Take of— 

Oil of turpentine 90 parts. 

Tinct. of capsicum 120 parts. 

Spirits of camphor 960 parts. 

Stronger water of ammonia . . 90 parts. 

Alcohol (sp. gr. 820) 180 parts. 

Oil of sassafras 6 parts. 

Fluid ext. of sassafras 40 parts. 

Total (parts by weight). . i486 

— New Idea. 

LYON'S EATHAIRON. 

The following formula will exactly duplicate the 
original: 
Take of— 

Castor oil 1 fl. oz. 

Tinct. cantharides 1 fl. dr. 



AND SYSTEMS. 117 

Oil of bergamot 20 minims. 

Stronger water of ammonia. . . 1 drop. 
Alcohol sufficient to make. ... 3 fl. oz. 

— New Idea. 

MAGNETIC LINIMENT. 

Take of— 

Tinct. of cantharides 2 dr. 

Oil of origanum 1 oz. 

Muriate ammonia 2 dr. 

Sulphuric ether 1 oz. 

Alcohol 1 pt. 

Mix. 

MAX VINA CREAM. 

Prepared by Prof. I. Hubert, inventor and proprietor, 
Toledo, Ohio. "Warranted to remove freckles, 
beautify the complexion, and preserve the smoothness 
of the skin." Used in conjunction with Malvina 
Lotion. According to our examination it is as fol- 
lows: Put up in a white glass ointment jar, contain- 
ing 386 grains of a white, pleasant appearing and 
pleasant smelling ointment, which consists of white 
wax, white petrolatum, a bismuth salt, and mercuric 
chloride in very small quantities. We recommend 
the following formula as one which will make a pre- 
paration closely resembling the original: 



IIS SECRET NOSTRUMS 

Take of— 

Saxoline 265 gr. 

White wax 50 gr. 

Spermaceti 30 gr. 

Bismuth oxychloride 40 gr. 

Mercuric chloride /^ gr. 

Spirit of rose (4 drams of oil to 

1 pint) 20 minims. 

Oil of bitter almonds -^ minim. 

Warm the saxoline, white wax, and spermaceti 
together until melted. While cooling incorporate the 
bismuth oxychloride and the mercuric chloride, this 
last previously dissolved in a little alcohol, and when 
nearly cold, stir in the perfumes. — New Idea. 

MALVINA LOTION. 

"AN ADDITION TO MALVINA CREAM." 

" This lotion should be used as directed with the 
Malvina Cream, as it is of great importance to cure 
freckles, pimples, moth patches, liver mole, ring- 
worm, and salt rheum. It straightens wrinkles in face, 
speeds the respiration of the blood, cleanses and 
softens the skin to youthful freshness." 

Put up in a white glass, square bottle, holding 4^ 
fluid ounces of a milky-white fluid, with a powder 
in suspension. No quantitative estimates were 
attempted. In solution we found mercuric chloride, 
and the powder in suspension is a carbonate or sub- 
carbonate of zinc. The milky fluid is evidently an 
emulsion of almonds poorly made. The following 



AND SYSTEMS. II9 

formula will make a preparation in most respects sim- 
ilar to Malvina Lotion. Make up an emulsion of 
almonds (2 drams to 1 pint) with rose-water. In one 
pint of this fluid dissolve two grains of mercuric 
chloride, and suspend in the mixture three drams of 
zinc oxide. — New Idea. 

MATHIETFS VERMIFUGE. 

Take of— 

Tin filings 1 oz. 

Fern root 3^ oz. 

Worm-seed /4 oz. 

Ext. of jalap 1 dr. 

Sulphate of potassa 1 dr. 

Honey to form an electuary. 

A tea-spoonful every three hours for two days, then 
substitute the following : 

Jalap 2 scruples. 

Sulphate of potassa 2 scruples. 

Scammony 1 scruple. 

Gamboge 10 gr. 

Make into an electuary with honey and give the 
same dose as the preceding. 

MEIBOM'S PECTORAL BALSAM. 

Take of — 

Benzoin 10 parts. 

Dragon's blood 10 parts. 

Opium 10 parts. 

Bals. Peru 10 parts. 



120 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

Spermaceti 5 parts. 

Butter 10 parts. 

Sweet oil of almonds 50 parts. 

Oil of turpentine 100 parts. 

Acetic acid 2 parts. 

Digest for some days, frequently shaking, and 
strain through linen. 

To be rubbed on the breast once daily and taken 
internally once or twice daily, in doses of ten to 
fifteen drops, for coughs and catarrh. 

METZ'S BALSAM. 

Metz's Balsam, which is quite popular in some sec- 
tions of the country, it is said is prepared as follows: 

Take of — 

Linseed oil 180 parts. 

Olive oil 180 parts. 

Oil of laurel berries 30 parts. 

Turpentine (oleo-resin) 60 parts. 

Melt by a gentle heat and add: 

Powdered aloes 8 parts. 

Powdered verdigris 12 parts. 

Powdered white vitriol 6 parts. 

Pour into a bottle and add: 

Oil of juniper 15 parts. 

Oil of cloves 4 parts. 

Mix by shaking. 

It is used as a dressing for ulcers, boils, wounds, 
etc. — National Druggist. 



AND SYSTEMS. 121 

MEXICAN MUSTANG LINIMENT. 

This widely advertised liniment comes in a round 
bottle surrounded by a circular and enclosed in a 
lithographic wrapper. The bottle holds i^ fluid 
ounces of a preparation which is a light brownish 
emulsion, smelling of petroleum products and ter- 
ebinthinate oils. The following may be taken as a 
very fair duplicate: 

Take of — 

Oil turpentine ^ dr. 

Oil thyme Yz dr. 

Oil amber, crude >4 dr. 

Black oil i dr. 

Kerosene oil 3 dr. 

Water 3 oz. 2 dr. 

Soap 35 gr. 

Caustic potash 3 gr. 

The soap should be placed, together with the alkali, 
in a flask, and then dissolved in two ounces of hot water; 
add the mixed oils in very small quantities at a time, 
with vigorous shaking. When the mixture has once 
assumed a creamy consistency, the oils may be added 
more rapidly; but in any case, reasonable care should 
be observed, and this is true in adding more water, 
which should be quite warm, until the full pint is 
made. If the oils do not emulsify readily, it is neces- 
sary to begin over again, as either too much oil was 
added at first, or the water was not warm enough. 
Strict attention must be paid to both of these consid- 
erations in order to insure success. — New Idea. 



122 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

MILLER'S GOLDEN OIL. 

The label on bottle of Miller's Golden Oil states 
it will cure diphtheria, bronchitis, coughs, colds, 
whooping-cough, catarrh in the head, croup, burns, 
rheumatic pains, neuralgia, toothache, headache, pains 
in the side, breast and neck, sore throat, earache, 
stiff neck, sprains, wounds, bruises, broken breasts, 
salt rheum, sore eyes, tetter, asthma, frosted feet, 
piles, deafness, corns, etc. 

Directions. — This oil should be taken inwardly and 
applied externally. 

According to New Idea, this consists mainly of — 

Essential oil of lavender 20 minims. 

Essential oil of eucalyptus 20 minims. 

Essential oil of sassafras 20 minims. 

Oil of turpentine 1 fl. dr. 

Cotton-seed oil 7 fl. dr. 

MITCHELL'S EYE SALVE. 

"A certain, safe, and effectual remedy for sore, 
weak, and inflamed eyes. Prepared only by E. Taylor, 
chemical works, Rochester, N. Y." 

This preparation consists of a small quantity of 
oxide of mercury, and a considerable quantity of 
oxide of zinc, disseminated through a fatty base, 
seemingly lard, stiffened with a little white wax. We 
offer the following as an efficient substitute: 

Saxoline, snow white 350 gr. 

White wax 130 gr. 



AND SYSTEMS. 1 23 

Oxide of zinc 45 gr. 

Oxide of mercury 5 gr. 

Oil of lavender 10 drops. 

Melt the white wax and saxoline together, and stir 
constantly while cooling. As soon as the mass begins 
to solidify incorporate the oxides and oil of lavender. 

— New Idea. 

MOREHEAD'S MAGNETIC PLASTER 

Is said to be composed of tar and extract of bella- 
donna, of each equal parts. 

MITCHELL'S SYSTEM OF TREATMENT OF PILES. 

In the year 187 1, there lived in the village of Clin- 
ton, Illinois, a young physician named Mitchell. His 
practice was small, and afforded him superabundant 
leisure, which he employed in devising a new treat- 
ment for piles. Being a good thinker, he soon con- 
ceived the idea of treating hemorrhoids by the hypo- 
dermic injection of a mixture of olive oil and carbolic 
acid. 

Having tried his plan upon an old farmer of the 
neighborhood, he accomplished a triumphant cure. 
The old farmer was delighted and garrulous, and the 
young doctor was needy but ambitious, and the two 
made a sort of co-partnership, the old farmer attend- 
ing to the advertising while the young doctor received 
the patients and punctured their piles and their 
pockets with his hypodermic syringe. Knowledge of 
their methods spread. Certain itinerants began to 



124 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

sell the secret to others, pledging them to secrecy in 
turn, and binding each to practice only in the district 
for which he had "purchased the right." Two men 
in Chicago are said to have paid three thousand dol- 
lars for the exclusive secret "right " to a certain por- 
tion of Illinois, including their city. Flocks of itiner- 
ants bought the secret of each other, and traversed 
the country in every direction until their handbills 
fluttered on the shores of the Pacific ocean. In the 
year 1876 one of the quacks revealed to us his 
method, and by taking measures adapted to the pur- 
pose, we found that his information was correct. We 
then entered into correspondence with a considerable 
number of the itinerants, some of whom seemed willing 
to make a clean breast. We also communicated 
with a large number of regular physicians who had 
observed the practice of the itinerants, and in some 
cases had made use of the method themselves. In 
the course of this investigation, we received about 
300 letters, and got rough estimates of the results of 
the injections in about 3,300 cases. Mitchell com- 
menced with a mixture of one part of carbolic acid to 
two parts of olive oil, but he gradually varied from 
his first method, and at length, as I am informed, he 
partly abandoned the injections and adopted the plan 
of tearing the interior of the piles to pieces by 
angular needles set in handles. He probably met 
some of the dangerous accidents which have occurred 
in the injection practice and changed to the needles 
on that account. His disciples, however, persisted, 



AND SYSTEMS. 125 

and in their hands the injections were varied in 
numerous ways. One of the itinerants wrote us 
that he had tested " every caustic in the vegetable and 
mineral kingdoms," but that he came back to the car- 
bolic acid as the best, "and the stronger the better." 
The excipients generally used were oil, glycerine or 
alcohol, to which water was sometimes added. Car- 
bolic acid was generally, but not always, the active 
ingredient, and the strength varied from twenty to 
one hundred per cent. We were disappointed on the 
whole in the results. Although there were many 
beautiful cures, thirteen deaths were reported to us 
out of about 3,304 cases, besides a large number of 
dangerous abscesses, sloughings, and in some cases 
prolonged and terrible pain, or desperate shock, the 
latter being probably from embolism. In a num- 
ber of cases very dangerous hemorrhages occurred, 
presumed to be from the spasmodic grip of the 
sphincter bursting the thin walls of a pile, squeezing 
out the clot, and letting loose the floodgates of the 
hemorrhoidal veins, which, above the verge, have no 
valves. 

The itinerants varied greatly the strength of the 
fluids used. The weak solutions acted more mildly 
than the others, but they often failed of cure. The 
strong preparations almost always cured the piles, 
but they produced a multitude of cases of abscesses 
and sloughings. The Michigan itinerant above men- 
tioned states, that he preferred positive results, and 
always sought to cause the piles to suppurate or 



126 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

mortify, and to that end he " preferred carbolic acid, 
and the stronger the better." Some of them use the 
acid at a strength of only three per cent, and others 
as high as ninety-five per cent. Regular physicians 
were for a number of years wholly at a loss to account 
for the success which these itinerants obtained. Our 
own discovery of the secret resulted partly from the 
indiscretion of a "specialist," who exemplified the 
saying, in vino Veritas, and partly from the information 
obtained by a Chicago druggist, who furnished the 
same man and others their solutions. We published 
the knowledge thus obtained simultaneously in five 
prominent medical journals, and as a result were 
shortly in receipt of hundreds of letters from per- 
sons of all classes, with reports of thousands of cases, 
and the results, both good and bad, of the method. 
The sale of "rights" ceased quickly. The sums paid 
for exclusive rights, in a limited district, were from 
one thousand to fifteen hundred dollars. 

— Andrews's Rectal and Anal Surgery. 

MOTHER SIEGEL'S SYRTTP. 

Take of— 

Cone, decoction of aloes (i to 4) 60 m. 

Borax 1.3 gm 

Capsicum, powdered 0.13 gm 

Gentian, powdered 2.3 gm 

Sassafras oil 0.3 gm. 

Wintergreen oil 0.12 gm. 

Rectified spirit 7.5 gm. 

Fluid extract dandelion 7.5 gm. 

Syrup 125 gm. 



AND SYSTEMS. I 27 

MOXIE— A NERVE FOOD. 

A correspondent desires to know the composition 
of Moxie Nerve Food, extensively advertised "as a 
very lively enemy to rum," etc. " Though neither a 
stimulant, poison, tonic, nor medicine, and contains 
not a drop of alcohol, yet it satisfies the drunkard's 
thirst better than anything else." * * * "It 
has created more excitement in the East than the 
railroad or the telegraph, and in Washington they all 
drink it, from the President down." Such is the 
driveling language of a quack nostrum, boomed by a 
retired homoeopath for the benefit of the dissipated 
elite. As usual, a romantic story goes with the nerve 
food, how it is prepared from a plant discovered by 
one Lieut. Moxie, and, " being entirely unknown to 
the botanists," was named in his honor. A large 
reward is offered for any chemist who can produce its 
equal, or give a correct analysis of the wonderful 
nerve food. This "Moxie," despite the wonderful 
tale of its discovery, and although so " wholly un- 
known to botanists," is, we presume to say, a plant 
otherwise termed avena sativa. The great " Nerve 
Food " is a decoction of oats, made into a syrup and 
flavored with sassafras and wintergreen. 

— Western Druggist. 

MURRAY'S INFALLIBLE SYSTEM TONIC, 
M. I. S. T. 

Manufactured by the M. I. S. T. Co., Indianapolis, 
Ind., S. B. Murray, manager. Claimed by them to be 



128 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

"the only scrofula, catarrh, blood, liver, and kidney 
medicine on earth." This preparation is put up in 
small gelatine capsules, each containing on an average 
2 X grains of a brown, bitter, pasty mass. Retail 
price is $1.00 per box containing 50 capsules. Our 
examination proved it to be: 

Aloes 50 gr. 

Cinnamon, pulv 25 gr. 

Glycyrrhiza root, pulv 25 gr. 

Water sufficient. 

Make into a pill mass with a little water, and divide 
into 50 parts. Press into gelatine capsules for use. 

— New Idea. 

NERVE AND BONE LINIMENT. 

Take of — 

Oil of origanum 4 oz. 

Oil of rosemary 4 oz. 

Oil of amber 4 oz. 

Oil of hemlock 4 oz. 

Turpentine 4 pts. 

Linseed oil 6 pts. 

Mix. For external use only. 

NUMBER THIRTEEN. 

Take of— 

01. santal alb. opt 2 fl. dr. 

Tinct. cubebs ^2 fl. oz. 

Spts. lavender comp y 2 fl. oz. 

Spt. nit. dulc Yz fl. oz. 

01. cassia opt 15 drops. 

Syr. acacia 2 ^ fl. oz. 

Mix. Dose: — A tea-spoonful before meals. 



AND SYSTEMS. 129 

OIL OF GLADNESS. 

Take of— 

Oil of marjoram i fi. dr. 

Oil of peppermint i fi. dr. 

Oil of horsemint i fl. dr. 

Ether 2 fi. dr. 

Tincture of capsicum ........ 4 fl. dr. 

Tincture of opium 1 fl. dr. 

Tincture of red sanders 1 fl. dr. 

Alcohol, sufficient quantity to 

make 8 fl. oz. 

Mix. — Druggists' Circular. 

OIL OF JOY. 

Take of — 

Alcohol 4 pts. 

Gum camphor ^ oz. 

Oil of sassafras 1 oz. 

Oil of cedar 1 oz. 

Tinct. of guaiac 1 oz. 

Tincture of capsicum 2 oz. 

Water of ammonia 4 oz. 

Chloroform 3 oz. 

Mix. 

OLIVE BRANCH. 

Olive Branch consists of powdered jequirity made 
into suppositories, with cocoa butter or white wax. 

— Boston Journal of Health. 

ORANGE BLOSSOM. 

Claimed by its proprietors to be a positive cure for 
all female diseases. The article is in the form of a 



130 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

vaginal suppository. Our analysis shows it to be 
about as follows: An oblong body, about one inch 
long, by one-half inch wide and one-half inch thick, 
weighing full two grammes (31 grains). A single 
fold of heavy tin foil surrounds and encloses a light, 
grayish-yellow, unguentous mass, of a rancid, fatty 
odor, and astringent, metallic taste. The reaction 
very acid. The constituents are: 

Zinc sulphate 1 dr. 

Alum 15 gr. 

Cocoa butter 3 dr. 

White wax ^ dr. 

Oil sweet almonds 1% dr. 

Ext. henbane 1 gr. 

— New Idea. 

OSGOOD'S CHODAGOGUE, OR CELEBRATED 
AGUE CURE. 

Take of — 

Sulph. quinine 2 dr. 

Fluid ext. leptandra 2 dr. 

Saturated tinct. stillingia 4 oz. 

Fluid ext. podophyllin 3 dr. 

Oil of sassafras 10 drops. 

Oil of wintergreen 10 drops. 

New Orleans molasses sufficient to 
make , 8 oz. 

Mix. Dose: — One to two tea-spoonfuls. 



AND SYSTEMS. 1 3 1 

OZONE UTERINE WAFERS. 

Ozone Uterine wafers consist of powdered jequirity 
in capsules. 

While jequirity is of value in uterine diseases, it 
should be used with caution. 

— Boston Journal of Health. 

PAGE'S LIQUID GKLTJE. 

Take of— 

Best carpenter's glue 120 parts. 

Acetic acid 10 parts. 

Water 130 parts. 

Alum 1 part. 

Digest in water bath until dissolved, and when cold 
add 

Alcohol 30 parts. 

— New Idea. 

PALMER'S COSMETIC LOTION 

Is said to be a weak (one per cent.) solution of 
sulpho-carbolate of zinc in glycerine and rose-water. 

— Western Druggist. 

PAPINE. 

In answer to a query the Formulary publishes the 
following formula, which is said to make a preparation 
of the same strength and characteristics as are claimed 
for Papine: 



132 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

Take of — 

Deodor. tinct. of opium 3^ fl. oz. 

Elixir , 1 3 fl. oz. 

Mix. 

A fluid dram represents one grain of opium. 

PARSONS' S LOCAL ANiESTHETIC. 

Take of — 

Chloroform 12 parts. 

Tinct. aconite 12 parts. 

Tinct. capsicum 4 parts. 

Tinct. pyrethrum 2 parts. 

Oil cloves 2 parts. 

Camphor 2 parts. 

Dissolve the camphor in the chloroform, then add 
oil of cloves and then the tinctures. The venerable 
Dr. Parsons, in sending this formula for publication, 
says: "I can not expect to remain much longer in this 
world, and I want the profession to know the value of 
this local anaesthetic." — Southern Dental Journal. 

PATTERSON'S EMULSION OF PUMPKIN SEEDS. 

Patterson's Emulsion of Pumpkin Seeds is said to 
be a good emulsion for expelling tape worms. 

Take two ounces of pumpkin seeds, peel and pound 
to a paste with sugar, then add by degrees eight fluid 
ounces of water, the whole to be taken in two or three 
draughts at short intervals. 



AND SYSTEMS. 133 

PEACOCK'S BROMIDES. 



Take of— 



Potassium bromide 640 gr. 

Sodium bromide 640 gr. 

Ammonium bromide 384 gr. 

Calcium bromide 192 gr. 

Lithium bromide 64 gr. 

Tincture vanilla 1 fl. oz. 

Sugar 10 av. oz. 

Water sufficient to make 16 fl. oz. 

Dissolve the salts in 8 ounces of water, add the 
tinctures, filter the liquid, dissolve the sugar in it 
without heat, strain and add sufficient water to make 
16 fluid ounces. — Western Dniggist. 

PEEKSKILX'S COUGH SYRUP. 

Take of— 

Syrup of tolu 5 fl. oz. 

Syrup of ipecac 1 fl. oz. 

Paregoric 4 fl. dr. 

Syrup of wild cherry 1 fl. oz. 

Mix. — Medical World. 

PERRY'S COMPOUND SARSAPARILLA BDOOD 
PURIFIER. 

Take of— 

Turkey-corn root 2 lb. 

Stillingia root 2 lb. 

Sarsaparilla root 2 lb. 

Yellow-dock root 2 lb. 

Sassafras bark 1 lb. 



134 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

Simple syrup 2 gal. 

Diluted alcohol 32 pt. 

Iodide of potassa 2 lb. 

Water sufficient. 

Percolate roots and bark with diluted alcohol, add 
syrup, then iodide of potassa. Dissolve in water to 
make six gallons. — Kilners Modern Pharmacy. 



PERRY DAVIS'S PAIN KILLER. 

Take of— 

Gum myrrh 2^ lb. 

Capsicum 10 oz. 

Gum opium 8 oz. 

Gum benzoin 6 oz. 

Gum guiac 3 oz. 

Gum camphor 10 oz. 

Alcohol 5 gal. 

PETTIT'S EYE SALVE. 

The formula for this old and popular remedy is as 
follows: 

Take of— 

Olive oil 4 dr. 

Spermaceti 1^4 dr. 

White wax y 2 dr. 

Melt together, and add gradually, under trituration 
in a warm mortar, to the following in fine powder, and 
thoroughly mix: 



AND SYSTEMS. 135 

White precipitate 20 gr. 

Oxide zinc 30 gr 

Acid benzoic 2 gr 

Morphine sulph ^ gr. 

Oil rosemary /^ gr 

Finally stir until cool, and preserve in a well 
covered vessel. — Western Druggist. 



PHILLIPS'S EMULSION. 

Each ounce weighs 31.485 grammes (about). 

Cod liver oil 36 . 00 per cent. 

Emulsifying agent, inor- 
ganic salts, sugar, etc. . 22.90 per cent. 

Glycerine 14.80 per cent. 

Water by difference 26.50 per cent. 

The emulsifying agents are pancreatin and acacia. 
The salts present, according to its formula, are acid 
phosphates of lime, magnesia, iron, potash and soda. 
It also contains glucose, probably from inversion of 
sugar. < — New Idea. 

PHENOL SODIQUE 

Is said to be composed of — 

Carbolic acid 188 gr. 

Caustic soda 31 gr. 

Distilled water 4 fl. oz. 

Mix. 



136 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

PIERCE'S FAVORITE PRESCRIPTION. 

Take of— 

Savin 150 gr. 

Cinchona 150 gr. 

Agaric 75 gr. 

Cinnamon 75 gr. 

Water sufficient to make a de- 
coction of 8 fl. oz. 

To this add — 

Acacia 150 gr. 

Sugar 75 gr. 

Tinct. digitalis ^ fl. dr. 

Opium .... Yi fl. dr. 

Oil anise 8 drops. 

Dissolve the gum and sugar in the strained decoc- 
tion, then add — 

Alcohol, 2 fluid ounces, in which the oil has 
previously been dissolved. 

— Western Druggist, from Hager. 

PIERCE'S GOLDEN MEDICAL DISCOVERY. 

Take of— 

Fluid extract of cinchona 16 oz. 

Fluid extract of columbo 4 oz. 

Fluid extract of guaiacum 8 oz. 

Fluid extract of licorice 4 oz. 

Tincture of opium 1 oz. 

Podophyllin (resinoid) 120 gr. 

Glycerine 6 fl. pt. 

Alcohol sufficient. 



AND SYSTEMS. 137 

Dissolve the podophyllin in the alcohol, and add 
the rest of the ingredients. 

Mix them. Dose: — A tea-spoonful. 

—The Drug Mill. 

PIMPLE LOTION. 

Take of— 

Carbolic acid i dr. 

Borax 4 dr. 

Glycerine 2 fi. oz. 

Tannin 2 dr. 

Alcohol 3 fl. oz. 

Rose-water 10 fl. oz. 

Mix and dissolve. Apply night and morning. 

— Druggists' Circular. 

PISO'S CURE FOR CONSUMPTION. 

Tinct. tolu y-z oz. 

Fl. ext. lobelia 2 dr. 

Fl. ext. cannabis indica 2 dr. 

Chloroform 1 dr. 

Sulph. morphia 4 gr. 

Tartar emetic 4 gr. 

Ess. mentha viridis 10 drops. 

Water 8 oz. 

Sugar 14 oz. 

Mix the fluid extracts, tincture of tolu, chloroform 
and essence of spearmint, and shake with the sugar in 
a bottle. Dissolve with the morphine and tartar emetic 
in hot water, then add the water to the sugar in a 
bottle. 

Dose: — One tea-spoonful. — New Idea. 



I38 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

PLATT'S CHLORIDES. 

Piatt's Chlorides we found to be approximately as 
follows: 

Take of— 

Magnesium chloride 1% parts. 

Potassium chloride 1^2 parts. 

Sodium chloride 1 J4 parts. 

Zinc chloride 7^ pirts. 

Aluminum chloride 7^ parts. 

Water, sufficient quantity ... 100 parts. 

— New Idea. 

PLEIS'S FIT POWDERS 

Are said to be: 

Bromide of potassium 15 gr. 

Powdered gentian 5 gr. 

Mix. Make one powder. 

— The Drug Mill. 

POPE'S CURE FOR NEURALGIA. 

Take of— 

Iodide of potash 4 dr. 

Extract of conium 1 dr. 

Comp. tinct. of cinchona 2 fl. oz. 

Syrup of sarsaparilla 4 fl. oz. 

Mix. Tea-spoonful three times a day. 

— National Druggist. 



AND SYSTEMS. 1 39 

POWELL'S BALM OF ANISE SEED. 

This patent preparation is merely a modification of 
" Paregoric Elixir," without the perceptible presence 
of camphor, but with the addition of a small quantity 
of extract of licorice, and the faintest presence of 
rhubarb. 

The medicine is distinctly acid, owing to the presence 
of benzoic acid, and when water is added it becomes 
turbid and milky, from anise seed oil being one of 
the principal constituents. 

The long, narrow, green bottle contains i fluid 
ounce. — New Idea. 

PRICE'S PILE OINTMENT. 

Take of— 

English calomel i oz. 

Powdered opium ^ oz. 

Pure carbonate of lead i lb. 

Oxide of zinc i lb. 

Olive oil 2 lb. 

Fresh lard (without salt) 2 lb. 

Mix by trituration in wedgewood mortar. It was 
put up in two-ounce gallipots, tied over with a bit of 
bladder, and was sold readily at $1, the principal 
purchasers being river and flat-boat men. 



14© SECRET NOSTRUMS 

PROCTOR'S VERMIFUGE. 

Take of— 

Santonine 16 gr. 

Fluid ext. of senna 2 oz. 

Fluid ext. of pink-root 2 oz. 

Dose for a child two years old, one tea-spoonful 
night and morning until purging takes place. Used 
to expel stomach worms from children. 

QUICK STOP FOR HEADACHES. 



WARRANTED TO CURE NERVOUS AND BILIOUS 
HEADACHE. 

Directions — A tea-spoonful in a little water; may 
be repeated in three hours if necessary. Prepared by 
E. F. Mattison, Providence, R. I. 

This preparation comes in a small pink carton, 
with printing in a bluish color. The bottle is a panel 
and contains 7 fluid drams of a greenish fluid, having 
a strong camphoraceous odor. Owing to the small 
amount of preparation contained in the bottle, a full 
examination was not obtained, as it required three bot- 
tles to determine the amount and nature of the alka- 
loid which it contains. Besides camphor, it con- 
tains a little over 1^ grains of cocaine to the bottle; 
that is about % grain of the alkaloidal salt to the 
dose. The greenish color is evidently due to some 
greenish fluid extract and underneath the camphor 
there is an odor suggestive of henbane, though we 



AND SYSTEMS. 141 

failed to isolate any alkaloid having decided mydria- 
tic qualities. The cocaine dilated the pupil slightly, 
but this dilation was attributed to the cocaine itself, 
which is reported to sometimes have this effect. 

— New Idea. 

RAT)ATVTS MICROBE KILLER. 

The interest excited by studies in bacteriology is 
not confined entirely to scientific circles. The popular 
mind has got hold of it, magnified it, and probably is 
now a fertile field for the propagation of quackery. 
One Mr. Radam, of Texas, has come forth with a 
great discovery that all diseases are due to microbes, 
and has therefore given to the world his preparation 
which is sure death to all microbes and, it is to be 
inferred, is therefore sure cure for all disease. With 
a considerable amount of literary rot of this kind, 
Radam's Microbe Killer is introduced and advertised. 
Dr. R. G. Eccles, in a four and a half column article, 
in the Druggists' Circular, manages to give the follow- 
ing formula for the preparation: 

Take of— 

Sulphuric acid (strong) 4 dr. 

Hydrochloric acid 1 dr. 

Red wine (about) 1 oz. 

Well water 1 gal. 

Radam's Microbe Killer brings $3 per gallon. Its 
use is not wholly unattended with danger, especially 
when used through long periods of time. 



142 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

RADWAY'S PILLS. 

Take of— 

Aloes .... 4 parts. 

Jalap 2 parts. 

Ginger 2 parts. 

Myrrh 2 parts. 

Make into a mass with mucilage and divide into 
2-grain pills, of which about four dozen are put into 
each box. — Cooky. 

RADWAY'S READY RELIEF. 

Take of — 

Soap liniment, about i}& oz. 

Tinct. capsicum, about /4 oz. 

% Water of ammonia, about ^ oz. 

Alcohol, about ^ oz. 

— /. /. Pier son, Ph.C. 

DR. RADWAY'S RENOVATING RESOLVENT. 

A somewhat turbid ginger extract, containing car- 
damoms, made with sugar and inclined to ferment. 

— Hager. 
Mr. H. B. Parsons gives the following: 

Take of — 

Potassium iodide 2.5 grm. 

Concentrated sarsaparilla de- 
coction 15 grm. 

Bitter almond water 10 grm. 



AND SYSTEMS. 143 

Syrup 30 grm. 

Parrish's simple elixir 90 grm. 

Distilled water 250 grm. 

Caramel sufficient to color. 



RANSOM'S HIVE SYRUP AND TOI/TJ. 

Sold in white, square bottles containing i}i fluid 
ounces. It is a yellowish syrup, next to odorless, and 
upon examination we find it to be composed about 
thus: 

Take 01— 

Fluid ext. squills 2 fl. dr. 

Fluid ext. senega 2 fl. dr. 

Soluble essence tolu 2 fl. dr. 

Tartar emetic 4 gr. 

White sugar 4 oz. av. 

Water to make 4 fl. oz. 

It is readily prepared by rubbing the tartar emetic 
and sugar well together, adding the fluid extracts and 
essence of tolu, and then enough water to make, after 
short slight heating and straining, 4 fluid ounces. 
Each fluid ounce of the syrup contains 1 grain of 
tartar emetic. — New Idea. 

REAVE' S EMBROCATION. 

Take of— 

Olive oil 1 y 2 oz. 

Aq. ammonia 1 oz. 

Goulard's extract of lead 1 oz. 

Oil origanum 2 oz. 

Mix. 



144 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

RED STAR COUGH CURE. 

The Charles A. Vogeler Company are out with a 
new candidate for patronage in the quackery line, 
called the "Red Star Cough Cure," which title is 
their trade mark. They state that it is absolutely 
free from morphine and other narcotics, as well as 
emetics. We purchased a bottle of it and have sub- 
mitted it to examination, and find that it is a syrupy 
preparation of wild-cherry bark, with a little tar and 
slight trace of chloroform or chloric ether, with 
possibly a little bitter-almond added. It is put up in 
a green panel bottle, containing full three fluid 
ounces. It is a clear, reddish-brown syrup, of thick 
substance, has a very faint acid reaction; but has 
pronounced bitter-almond flavor, and tarry taste and 
odor. — New Idea. 

REE'S CHOLERA MIXTURE. 

Take of— 

Spts. chloroform 12 oz. 

Spts. lavender, comp 1 2 oz. 

Vin. opium 3 oz. 

Oil of cloves 40 drops. 

Mix. 

REX MAGNUS. 

According to Science, the composition is roughly 
indicated by the following formula: 



AND SYSTEMS. 145 

Take of— 

Boric acid ) , 

Borax \ 67 per cent. 

Chloride of potassium. ... 15 per cent. 

Water 18 per cent. 

DR. RICHMOND'S SAMARITAN NERVINE. 

This preparation is intended to cure not alone fits 
and all nervous diseases, but also the defects of moral 
character. Below we give a few of their absurd state- 
ments. 

" A bad temper can be treated just as successfully 
with a dose of medicine, as a cough or a headache. 
Dishonesty in a servant need not be punished by 
discharging him; you have only to give him some of 
this marvelous medicine. If your son will not study 
his lessons, do not send him to bed early, o: - threaten 
him with more severe correction, but give him Dr. 
Richmond's Samaritan Nervine for one week, and he 
will become the most studious and diligent child in 
school. There is certainly no end to the benefits 
which this specific has conferred upon mankind. As 
a peace-maker it acts like magic. A wife who had 
for twelve years been abused and neglected by a 
morose and violent husband, asked the doctor what 
she should do. He told her to put every day a few 
drops of Samaritan Nervine in his coffee. She did so, 
and in a surprisingly short time the morose grumbler 
became a lamb-like, affectionate, docile spouse. 
When so simple a remedy as this is at hand, there is 



146 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

no longer any reason why domestic discord should 
continue. A miserly father refused to sanction the 
attentions of a poor, but respectable young man to his 
daughter. The loving damsel surreptitiously inserted 
a few drops of the Samaritan Nervine into her father's 
coffee each meal, and within a fortnight the stern old 
gentleman not only acquiesced in the lovers' mar- 
riage, but gave the bride a handsome dowry." 

This article is put up in five-ounce panel bottles, 
poorly labeled, and it retails at $1.50 per bottle. Such 
an article could be put up for less than fifteen cents, 
including container, leaving by no means a small 
margin for the profit of its manufacturers. 

According to our analysis, this wonderful agent has 
the following formula: 

Potass, bromide 1 oz. 

Sugar 1 oz. 

Caramel 20 minims. 

Water 5 oz : 

Dissolve and add oil cassia 10 minims. 

— New Idea. 



ROCHE'S HERBAL EMBROCATION. 

An effectual remedy for whooping-cough, without 
internal medicine. 

This is the only discovery affording a perfect cure, 
without administering internal medicine, the difficulty 
and inconvenience of which, in all disorders par- 
ticularly incident to children, are too well known to 



AND SYSTEMS. 1 47 

need any comment. The inventor and proprietor of 
the Embrocation can with pleasure and satisfaction 
declare that its salutary effects have been so uni- 
versally experienced, and so generally acknowledged, 
that many of the most eminent of the Faculty now con- 
stantly recommend it as the only known safe and 
perfect cure, without restriction of diet or use of 
medicine. — Extract from manufacturer's circular. 

Digest asafcetida 2^ parts 

with — 

Olive oil 60 parts, 

for some hours; decant and mix the solution with — 

Oil caraway 2 parts. 

Oil turpentine 2 parts. 

And add a few drops of oil gaultheria. 

— Western Druggist 

On the wrapper enclosing the vial it is stated that 
the Court Circular says: "We find that so invaluable 
is it regarded by those who know most about the 
subject, that it is not looked upon as a patent medi- 
cine, since so many medical men prescribe it, not only 
in England, but in all parts of the world, including the 
United States, where its healing power is universally 
recognized; and we are now of the same opinion as 
those who, after a lengthened experience of its merits, 
pronounce it an absolute specific for this disease." 



148 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

ROGERS'S EXCELSIOR CORN CURE. 

Take of— 

Fluid ext. cannabis indica 1 dr. 

Sulph. morphine 20 gr. 

Salicylic acid iogr. 

Collodion to make 2 fl. oz. 

Mix well. 

Pare the corn down thin, apply till a coat forms; do 
so twice or more, and you can pick the corn out. 

— Dr. Sullivan in Medical World. 

RORICK'S FORMULA FOR INJECTING 
HEMORRHOIDS. 

Take of — 

Acid carbolic 2 fl. dr. 

Glycerine 2 fl. dr. 

Aqua 1 Yi fl. dr. 

Fl. ext. ergot 1 fl. dr. 

Mix. Three to eight drops to be injected, accord- 
ing to size of tumor. — Chicago Medical Times. 

ROSALIND. 

" A cosmetic for tinting the fingers, face and lips. 
Preserves the skin, cures chapped lips, etc. Price 50 
cents. Prepared by Mrs. Mary L. Cobb, America's 
finest manicure." The preparation is put up in a small 
white-glass ointment jar. 

Examination by H. W. Snow in our laboratory 
shows it to consist of vaseline, spermaceti, probably 



AND SYSTEMS. 149 

also white wax, and an aniline dye related closely 
to eosine in its tint and general characteristics. The 
following formula may be taken as making a prepara- 
tion similar in most respects to the original: 

Eosine 10 gr. 

White wax 30 gr. 

Spermaceti . 30 gr. 

Amber saxoline 410 gr. 

Mix. 

The important point in the manufacture of this 
article is to have the aniline dye in the finest possible 
state of subdivision. It would perhaps not be a bad 
plan to use a mixture of the fatty acids from soap by 
precipitation of its aqueous solution with an acid. The 
fatty acids are soluble in alcohol, likewise the eosine, 
and we thus have a means of incorporating the latter 
substance in a most effectual manner. In case the 
fatty acids were used, probably their melting point 
would be sufficiently high without the addition of 
either wax or spermaceti. — New Idea. 

RUSSELL'S BOTANIC KING. 

Russell's Botanic King, Chester, Pa., consists, ac- 
cording to the label, of a combination of pure extracts 
of dandelion, mandrake, buchu, queen's root, Peruvian 
bark, etc., and the "et cetera," we think, is cape 
aloes, judging by the odor and general appearance, 
and this constitutes probably the bulk of the mixture. 
It is a coarse, brownish-black powder, put up in a 



150 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

turned wood box (well caked together in this ex- 
ample), the box being 2 inches in diameter by \ x /% 
inches deep, bearing pink label on top and around the 
edge. The Botanic King is stated to be a medicine 
of rare excellence, and the best one made for the 
liver, stomach, kidneys, bowels, and blood. The 
directions are that the contents of the box shall be 
dissolved in a quart of water, and the dose for an 
adult a wine-glassful night and morning; and for a 
child a tea-spoonful, night and morning. From the 
superficial examination we have made, we should 
judge that it consists, as Dr. Russell states on the 
label, of a mixture of powdered extracts of dandelion, 
mandrake, buchu, yellow dock, and Peruvian bark, 
each 10 parts; aloes, 50 parts. — New Idea. 

RUSSIA SALVE. 

A formula for a preparation said to resemble this 
preparation is given in the Druggists' Circular: 

Take of — 

White pine pitch 2 lb. 

Beeswax 1 lb. 

Temper it with olive oil to the proper consistence. 
The " pitch " and wax are, of course, to be melted 
before the " tempering " process begins. 



AND SYSTEMS. 151 

SAGE'S CATARRH REMEDY. 

Take of — 

Powdered hydrastis canadensis. . i oz. 

Powdered borax iogr. 

Salt 10 gr. 

Ferro-cyanuret of iron, .sufficient to color. 

Mix. 

The above is the formula of Dr. Sage, and sold by 
him to Dr. Pierce, of New York, for $500.00. The 
formula was given to me by Dr. Sage himself, while 
on a visit to relatives in Switzerland county, Indiana, 
two years ago. — Dr. Hewitt in Medical World. 

SANFORD'S RADICAL CURE FOR CATARRH 

Consists, according to an analysis made by Prof. A. 
B. Lyons, of a distilled extract of witch-hazel, con- 
taining a little alcohol and glycerine, perhaps as much 
as five per cent, of the latter, and between ten and 
fifteen per cent, of the former (no exact determina- 
tions attempted), also an important constituent — 
morphine — quantity not estimated. 

The "solvent" consists mostly of nitre and bicar- 
bonate of soda, with a small quantity of the yellow 
powder, insoluble or sparingly soluble in water — pro- 
bably a vegetable powder. — New Idea % 



152 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

SAUL'S CATARRH REMEDY. 

Take of— 

Comp. tinct. benzoin 2 oz. 

Tinct. tolu 2 oz. 

Chloroform 1 dr. 

Sulphuric ether 1 dr. 

Aromatic spts. of ammonia 1 oz. 

Oil of tar 1 dr. 

Rectified spirits 5 oz. 

Mix. Use with Cutler's inhaler. 

— Dr. Brucker i?i Medical World. 

SAWYER'S UTERINE PASTILLES. 

Through the kindness of a correspondent we 
secured a sample of the above articles. They come 
in little oblong blocks, about ^ inch long and % inch 
square at the end, weighing each on an average about 
20 grains. The circular which comes with them is 
addressed, of course, to the female sex, and is well 
calculated to produce alarm in the young. It is 
another sample of the demoralizing documents which 
unscrupulous quacks are continually circulating 
among the laity, in order to create alarm and profit by 
this alarm. The circular, after first dilating upon the 
physical and mental beauty of women, proceeds to 
trace these to the sexual, and afterwards paints the 
horrors of family quarrels, divorce, imbecility, and 
lunacy which follow in the train of a diseased sexual 
system. Then comes a description of the diseases 



AND SYSTEMS. 153 

peculiar to women, and all of which are curable by- 
using $8 worth of these wonderful pastilles. The most 
creditable portions of the circular we will reprint in 
full, as it pertains to the auxiliary treatment to be pur- 
sued, and which in reality, we should say, is the treat- 
ment of primary importance, if any treatment at all is 
necessary: 

DIRECTIONS FOR USING. 

Just before retiring at night insert one of the 
pastilles as far up the vagina as possible with the finger; 
it should be placed as near the womb as possible to 
render its action most effective; then the patient 
should retire at once; this should be done every night 
except during menstruation. In cases of leucorrhcea 
and ulceration, the patient should wash thoroughly 
both night and morning with castile soap and tepid 
water, using nothing but the hand, and this should be 
followed carefully until the leucorrhcea and ulceration 
has entirely disappeared. 

RULES OF HYGIENE. 

The patient should use a good, nourishing diet, with 
plenty of good meat of some kind; beefsteak is the 
best. Fat meats and pastry should not be used at all; 
use but little tea or coffee. In case when the patient 
is incapable of taking the proper amount of food at 
a time, it will be found beneficial to take but two 
meals a day for a time, until they can take a full meal. 
Some graham bread or oat meal can often be used to 
advantage. 



154 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

BATHING. 

Bathing the entire body should never be done 
oftener than once a week, and then it should be done 
in a warm room by bathing and rubbing part of the 
body at a time with water that feels most agree- 
able. Sleep should be abundant and an abstinence 
from all sexual excitement should be strictly adhered 
to. All surrounding influences which are not condu- 
cive to a cheerful, happy state of mind should be 
done away with. 

DRESS. 

Care taken in comfortably and properly dressing the 
body is an important factor in the recovery; the feet and 
lower limbs should be dressed warmly, and great care 
taken that the skirts are hung from the shoulders and 
cause no weight upon the abdomen. Ladies suffer- 
ing from prolapsus or falling of the womb can never 
recover unless they observe this strictly. 

We gave the preparation some little attention, and 
will give the quack credit for doing comparatively 
little harm, in a physical sense, when we consider the 
possibilities. He proceeds evidently on the faith- 
cure principle, and his auxiliary treatment, rather than 
on the actual medicinal efficacy of his own pastilles. 
They consist, according to our examination, of noth- 
ing but flour, made into a paste and allowed to 
harden in the form of small oblong blocks. 

— New Idea. 



AND SYSTEMS. 15$ 

SCHENCK'S PULMONIC SYRUP. 

The following formula for Schenck's Pulmonic Syrup 
was given to me by an old lady several years ago, who 
professed to know all about the late Dr. Schenckwhen 
he commenced: 

Take of — 

Wormwood Y* oz. 

Catnip y? oz. 

Tansy Yz oz. 

Hyssop Yz oz. 

Hoarhound j^ oz. 

Hops /^ oz. 

Chamomile z^ oz. 

Comf rey ^ oz. 

Senega ^ oz. 

Elecampane /4 oz. 

Boil with sufficient water to make, after straining, 
one quart; then add: 

Gum arabic i*^ oz. 

Licorice i ^ oz. 

then one good-sized Indian turnip, and finally add: 

Sugar 3 lb. 

Brandy y 2 pt. 

Juice of two lemons. 

— H. M. Wilder in Pharmaceutical Record. 

SCOTT'S EMULSION. 

Each ounce weighs 30.555 grammes (about). 

Take of— 

Cod liver oil 35.5 per cent. 

Glycerine 18.5 per cent. 



156 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

Emulsifying agent and hy- 

pophosphites, about 3.1 per cent. 

Water by difference 42.9 per cent. 

Oil of cassia to flavor. 

This preparation contains no glucose, sucrose, and 
no soap (hence, probably, alkali was not used in its 
manufacture). It contains no pancreatin and no 
acacia. — New Idea. 

SEA-SHORE DIPHTHERIA AND SORE-THROAT 
SPECIFIC. 

Manufactured by H. S. Kinmouth, M. D., Asbury 
Park, New Jersey. This preparation is put up in a 
panel bottle holding full two ounces of a slightly 
yellowish astringent liquid, having a specific gravity of 
1.024. According to our analysis, it contains 11^ 
grains of solid matter to each fluid ounce, which 
upon examination proved to be chloride of iron (4^ 
grains per fluid ounce, equal to 9% minims of liq. 
ferri chloridi, U. S. P. '80) and the chlorides of zinc, 
magnesia, and soda, and chloride of potash. 

The following formula will make a preparation 
practically identical with the original: 

Take of— 

Sol. of chloride of iron 18 minim. 

Zinc chloride 2 gr. 

Magnesia chloride 2 gr. 

Sodium chloride 4 gr. 

Chlorate of potassium 6 gr. 

Water , 2 fl. oz. 

— New Idea. 



AND SYSTEMS. 157 

SEELEY'S PILE OINTMENT. 

Take of — 

Sulph. morphia 3 gr. 

Tannin 48 gr. 

Pine tar 72 gr. 

White wax 72 gr 

Benzoated lard 766 gr. 

Mix. 

SENCKENBERGPS MIGRAINE PASTILLES. 

Contain each: 

Methozine (antipyrine) 4^ gr. 

Antifebrin 7 ^ gr. 

Rhubarb ^ gr. 

Calamus y$ gr. 

Cinchona ^ gr. 

— Pharm. Cenr. 

SEVEN BARKS. 

Take of — 

Extract of hydrangea 1 lb. 

Extract of poke root 12 lb. 

Extract of Culver's root 12 lb. 

Extract of dandelion 12 lb. 

Extract of lady-slipper 12 lb. 

Extract of colocynth 12 lb. 

Extract of bloodroot 6 lb. 

Extract of blue flag 6 lb. 

Extract of stone-root 6^ lb. 

Extract of golden seal 7^ lb. 

Extract of mandrake 24 lb. 



158 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

Extract of black cohosh 24 lb. 

Extract of butternut 48 lb. 

Spirits of sea salt 14^ lb. 

Aloes 10 lb. 

Borate of sodium 15 lb. 

Infusion of capsicum 4^2 lb. 

Powdered sassafras 1 1 lb. 

Ginger 6 lb. 

Sugar-house syrup 40 gal. 

Water, sufficient to make 98 gal. 

— E. H. Greeley, in National Druggist. 



SEVEN SEALS, OR GOLDEN WONDER. 

Hager gives this formula: 

Take of — 

Ether 4 parts. 

Chloroform 6 parts. 

Camphor 4 parts. 

Oil of peppermint 2 parts. 

Tinct. of capsicum 35 parts. 

Alcohol (90 per cent.) 50 parts. 

These proportions are approximate. 
This preparation is recommended for "cholera- 
morbus, rheumatism, warts, corns and all diseases." 

— National Druggist. 

SEVEN SUTHERLAND SISTERS' HAIR 
GROWER. 

"THE lucky number seven." 
" An elegant hair dressing. A sure hair promoter. 
Will permanently stop hair from falling out. A 



AND SYSTEMS. 159 

preparation free from irritating matter. For preserving 
and beautifying the hair, and rendering it soft and 
glossy, it is the best." Prepared only by the Seven 
Sutherland Sisters, Lockport, N. Y. 

The container is a square, panel bottle, with name 
blown into the glass, and holds 3^ fluid ounces of a 
nearly colorless liquid, having marked odor of bay 
rum and distilled extract of witch-hazel. Examina- 
tion shows that the following formula makes a pre- 
paration substantially identical with the secret " hair 
grower ": 

Stearns's bay rum* 7 ti. oz. 

Dist. ext. of witch-hazel 9 fl. oz. 

Common salt 1 dr. 

Hydrochloric acid (5 per cent.) . 1 drop. 

Magnesia sufficient. 

Mix the bay rum and distilled extract of witch- 
hazel, and shake with a little magnesia; filter and in 
the nitrate dissolve the salt and add the hydrochloric 
acid. The agitation with magnesia causes the pre- 
paration to assume a yellow color; but by rendering it 
very slightly acid, with one drop of 5 per cent, hydro- 
chloric acid, this color all disappears. — New Idea. 

SEXUAL DISORDERS AND SYSTEMATIZED 
QUACKERY. 

The increased number of quacks and quack- 
agcticies in this city, appealing to victims of sexual 
troubles and of venereal disease, and the boldness 
and offensiveness of their advertising methods, are 



l6o SECRET NOSTRUMS 

working an injury which demands more than ordinary 
notice. In late years the older methods have changed, 
and from a business point of view, improved, and it 
has become the practice for these quacks to work 
under the guise of agencies or companies. They have 
"laboratories," consultation-rooms, and most elaborate 
methods of advertising by circulars, hand-bills, and 
through the lower grades of newspapers. So com- 
plete is the system that there is hardly a young man 
or growing youth in the city who does not get hold of 
some disgusting, or, to him, terrifying notice, pictur- 
ing the horrible results of self-abuse and seminal 
losses. Thousands are thereby frightened into a 
mental state half approaching insanity. Many of them 
go or write to some of these advertising firms, put 
themselves under treatment until every spare penny 
has been wrung from them, without, as a rule, any 
good being done. On the contrary, an increase in 
their troubles often results, and even a permanent 
state of mental and nervous depression is brought 
about. 

The young man, once in the toils of these unholy 
"agencies" is subjected to influences tending to keep 
him there. There seems to be a list kept of those 
applying at one place, which is circulated among 
quacks all over the country. Consequently the once 
victimized party is in constant receipt of new circulars 
describing the virtues of new " pearls," or pills, or 
special apparatus. Many of the circulars contain 
grossly inaccurate descriptions and illustrations of 



AND SYSTEMS. l6l 

the sexual apparatus, the bladder, stomach, brain, 
etc. 

We have before us a specimen circular, depicting 
with equal force the despairing future of the mas- 
turbator, and the unequaled virtues of a certain sup- 
pository. It has also cheap wood-cuts of a "brainless 
child born of a masturbator," a hydrocephalic child 
with the same ancestry, and of a half-naked man 
behind the bars of a cage, representing a person 
"made insane by self-abuse! " No words can tell the 
agony, the shame, the despair, which such publica- 
tions cause in a large class of half-educated youths 
who get hold of them. 

A young man subsequently found to have a fine 
physique, no actual sexual weakness, and to be suffer- 
ing only from two or three emissions monthly, wrote 
to a physician: "Although I am able to work, yet 
every day the constant thought of my condition, my 
blasted and miserable life, is with me always, and 
keeps me in a constant despairing state of mind." 

This is the "state of mind" which it is the aim 
of the quacks in question to produce to as large 
an extent as possible. The more morbidness and 
despair the more money in their pockets; for they 
fatten on the distress of their victims. Here is the 
foulest possible prostitution of medicine, a systema- 
tized attempt to create disease, and then get money 
from it. 

These individuals and companies do not confine 
their practice to sexual troubles, but plaster the 



1 62 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

telegraph poles and other places with announcements 
of " swift cures " for " private diseases," and send 
circulars advertising cures for all kinds of chronic 
troubles. Blanks are furnished, to be filled out with 
information regarding the person and the disease; 
descriptions of how to send urine by mail, price lists 
for different sets of pills, or different courses of treat- 
ment, are also furnished. 

In fine, these establishments have become a public 
nuisance for the intelligent community, and a serious 
public harm to those unable to judge of their merits 
and honesty. — The Medical Record. 

SHILOH'S CONSUMPTION CURE. 

Shiloh's Consumption Cure is put up in a green 
panel bottle, with an extra long neck, the bottle 
holding scant three fluid ounces of a thin, syrupy, 
semi-opaque greenish-brown liquid, with pronounced 
taste of chloroform. Reaction slightly, but perma- 
nently acid. This composition, as we examined it, 
shows: 

Muriate of morphine 3 gr. 

Muriatic acid 3 minims. 

Fl. ext. of henbane 2 fl. dr. 

Fl. ext. of ginger 3 fl. dr. 

Fl. ext. of wild cherry 3 fl. dr. 

Diluted alcohol 3 fl. dr. 

Chloroform 1 fl. dr. 

Essence peppermint 30 minims. 

Syrup of tar 3 fl. oz. 

Simple syrup enough to make. 8 fl. oz. 



AND SYSTEMS. 163 

Each bottle carries a wrapper and elaborate circular 
around it, and the whole wrapped in a red-lead colored 
paper, which states that it is warranted to cure con- 
sumption, coughs, colds, croup, hoarseness, asthma, 
and aU lung diseases. It is prepared only by B. C. 
Wells, LeRoy, N. Y., after a prescription of Dr. Brutus 
Shiloh. Price, 50 cents. No cure, no pay. Such a 
preparation, if made without secrecy, should be worth 
just about half the price it is sold at, both at wholesale 
and retail. — New Idea. 

SIMMONS'S LIVER REGULATOR. 

Take of— 

Hepatica 1 oz. 

Leptandra 1 oz. 

Serpentaria 1 oz. 

Senna 1% oz. 

Mix. Put the ingredients into 2^ pints of boiling 
water. Let stand 18 hours, then strain. Add % 
pint of good whisky. — New Remedies. 

SIROP GIBERT 

Is a favorite French anti-syphilitic remedy, and has 
the following composition: 
Take of— 

Biniodide of mercury 2 gr. 

Iodide of potassium 100 gr. 

Simple syrup 6 fl. oz. 

Mix. 

Dose: — Two tea-spoonfuls given after meals, three 
times a day. 



164 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

SKINNER'S DANDRUFF MIXTURE. 

Take of— 

Chloral hydrate 1 part. 

Glycerine 4 parts. 

Bay rum 16 parts. 

— National Druggist. 

SMEDLEY'S FEVER POWDERS. 

Take of— 

Camphor gum ^ oz. 

Gum myrrh ]/ 2 oz. 

Blood-root 1 oz. 

Lobelia (seeds, pods, and leaves) . 2 oz. 

All pulverized fine and well mixed. 
For colds and to break a fever in its first stages, in 
powders of ordinary size. 

For catarrh in the head, use as a snuff. 

SMITH BROS.' COUGH DROPS. 

Average weight of each drop ... 36.5 gr. 
Sugar (and glucose in small 

quantities) 35 .5 gr. 

Powdered charcoal 80 gr. 

Licorice in small quantities. 

And highly flavored with oil of sassafras with a 
little oil of anise. — New Idea. 



AND SYSTEMS. 1 65 

STEDMAN'S SOOTHING POWDERS. 

Each powder weighs 0.195 grammes, or 3 grains. 
A white powder with the very slightest tinge of brown- 
ish-yellow, slightly interspersed with light brownish 
specks. Taste indifferently sweetish and starchy, 
with slightly bitterish after-taste. The microscope 
demonstrated crystals of sugar of milk intermixed 
with much starchy matter, apparently rice, from the 
shape of the fecula cells; some white opaque lumps 
and brown specks, which latter afterwards proved to 
be opium and ipecac. Reaction of watery solution, 
which was slightly colored, proved neutral. 

The starchy matter representing the largest con- 
tents of the powders suggests the following formula: 

Take of — 

Opium pulv 3 gr. 

Ipecac 1 gr. 

Milk sugar 8 gr. 

Rice flour 12 gr. 

Mix and divide into 8 powders. — New Idea. 

ST. JACOB'S OIL. 

Take of — 

Gum camphor 1 oz. 

Chloral hydrate 1 oz. 

Chloroform 1 oz. 

Sulph. ether 1 oz. 

Tinct. opium ^2 oz. 

Oil origanum y 2 oz. 

Oil sassafras y 2 oz. 

Alcohol y gal. 

Mix. — Medical World. 



l66 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

J. L. ST. JOHN'S LINIMENT. 

According to Eclectic Medical Advocate, this prepara- 
tion is composed of: 

Turpentine 7 oz. 

Sweet oil 3 oz. 

Tinct. arnica 4 oz. 

Oil origanum 1 oz. 

Oil hemlock 1 oz. 

Oil juniper 1 oz. 

Oil amber 2 oz. 

Laudanum 2 oz. 

Spirits ammonia ^ oz. 

Camphor ^2 oz. 

ST. JOHN LONG'S LINIMENT. 

The author of this liniment was a blatant quack of 
the eighteenth century. Being a reckless empiric, he, 
as a matter of course, hit on some remedies of value. 
Among others was the following liniment, which, it 
appears, is still in use in the Pennsylvania hospital, for 
stiff and rheumatic joints and in cases in which a 
local stimulant and rubefacient effect is desired. 
Mr. Jacob Hecker, Ph.G., the apothecary of the 
institution, uses the following formula: 

Take of— 

Yolks of eggs 8 

Oil turpentine 24 fi. oz. 

Acetic acid 16 fl. oz. 

Water , 24 fl. oz. 

Mix. 



AND SYSTEMS. 1 67 

To the yolks, in a gallon bottle, add a small quan- 
tity of the water and shake briskly together; then add 
the turpentine in successive portions, shaking the 
mixture briskly after each addition. Then add the 
acetic acid and lastly the water in same manner. For 
private practice the liniment is greatly improved by 
the addition of good oil of lemon, one ounce to the 
pint. — Philadelphia Medical Times. 

SCOTCH OATS ESSENCE. 

Recent analyses assert that a certain nostrum, yclept 
"Scotch Oats Essence," widely advertised as a won- 
derful nerve tonic containing neither alcohol nor 
other harmful ingredients, is, in fact, loaded with 35 
per cent, alcohol, and with two grains of morphine to 
each bottle. A more diabolical concoction could 
hardly be devised; the crime is not merely obtaining 
money under false pretenses, nor simply a case of in- 
genious and wholesale robbery, but a devilish scheme 
for undermining the mind, soul, and life of its victims, 
and this under the pious pretense of strengthening 
the body and restoring the jaded mind. 

— Western Druggist. 

STOKES'S EXPECTORANT. 

This is quite a popular remedy in some localities. 

Take of — 

Carbonate ammonia 30 gr. 

Fluid ext. squills 1 fl. dr. 

Fluid ext. senega 1 fl. dr. 



:68 secret nostrums 

Paregoric 6 fl. dr. 

Syrup of tolu 12 fl. dr. 

Water 10 fl. dr. 

Dissolve the carbonate of ammonia in the water 
and add the remaining ingredients. 
Dose: — A tea-spoonful. 

STOMACH PAD. 

Take of— 

Bayberry ioz. 

Lupuline 1 oz. 

Wild ginger Yz oz. 

Sassafras bark 1 oz. 

Gum myrrh 1 oz. 

Lady's-slipper y 2 oz. 

Capsicum 1 dr. 

Oil fennel 2 dr. 

Oil cloves 1 dr. 

Grind the drugs to a moderately fine powder, and 
mix with the oils and gum. Make an oblong pad to 
wear over the stomach. Used for general stomach 
diseases. 

STRONG'S ARNICA JELLY. 

Carbolated for chaps, pimples, and roughness of the 
skin. Claimed to be "an efficient and agreeable rem- 
edy for sunburn, tan, and bites and stings of insects;" 
also "will be found highly beneficial for cuts, bruises, 
burns, pimples, eruptions, or any affection of the 
skin." It is directed to be applied with friction, 
after washing, until well absorbed. 



AND SYSTEMS. IO9 

This preparation is put up in a collapsible tube 
holding about i to i}£ troy ounces of a brownish 
aromatic jelly-like substance. Examination shows it 
to contain glycerine, starch, oil of bitter almonds, car- 
bolic acid, and arnica. The following formula may 
be taken as one which will duplicate the proprietary 
article in all essential particulars: 

Take of — 

Glycerine i fl. oz. 

Water i fl. oz. 

Starch 1 20 gr. 

Fl. ext. arnica 2 fl. dr. 

Sp. of bitter almonds (1 in 8) 2 minims. 

Carbolic acid 8 minims. 

Mix the glycerine and water, and add the starch, 
and rub up with a pestle until a perfectly smooth 
mixture results; then heat over a direct flame with 
constant stirring until a perfectly smooth jelly is 
produced; allow to cool, and when nearly cold, in- 
corporate the fluid extract of arnica, spirit of bitter 
almonds, and carbolic acid. — New Idea. 

DR. SYKES'S CATARRH CURE. 

Mr. D. S. Sager, chemist, Brantford, Canada, writes 
the American Druggist that an analysis of a package 
of this substance showed that it consisted of between 
66 and 67 per cent, of chlorate of potassium, with 
powdered licorice root, and a small amount of 
brown powder not analyzed. The liquid is made by 



170 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

adding the powder to a stated amount of water, filter- 
ing out the sediment, and then flavoring with winter- 
green. 

SYRUP OF FIGS. 

The formula for Syrup of Figs is as follows: 
Take of— 

Senna leaves 14 oz. 

Coriander seed 6 oz. 

Figs 24 oz. 

Tamarind 18 oz. 

Cassia pulp 18 oz. 

Prunes 1 2 oz. 

Ext. licorice 1 y? oz. 

Ess. peppermint 1^ oz. 

Syr. simp 1 gal. 

The formula omits directions; but probably a water 
extract should be made of the drugs, so as to measure 
about four pints, and in this dissolve eight pounds of 
sugar to make the syrup. — Druggists' Circular. 

SYRUP OF STILLINGIA COMPOUND. 

This is an old eclectic remedy and may be prepared 
as follows: 

Take of— 

Fl. ext. stillingia comp 1 fl. oz. 

Fl. ext. corydalis 1 fl. oz. 

Fl. ext. blue flag y 2 fl. oz. 

Fl. ext. elder flowers Yz fl. oz. 

Fl. ext. prince's pine ^ fl. oz. 



AND SYSTEMS. 17I 

Fl. ext. prickly ash berries ... % fl. oz. 

Fl. ext. coriander X fl. oz. 

Sugar 14 oz. 

Water , sufficient. 

Mix the fluid extracts and add water to make 6% 
fluid ounces; filter if need be and wash to obtain 6^ 
fluid ounces. In this dissolve the sugar, using as 
little heat as possible, and add water to make one 
pint. 

SWEET'S CELEBRATED OINTMENT. 

Take of— 

Skunk's oil /^ pt- 

Angle worms i pt. 

Water y 2 pt. 

Bitter-sweet i handful. 

Simmer well together and strain. Apply to the 
cords. 

This was used by the Sweets, a celebrated family of 
Connecticut bone-setters. 

SWIFT'S SYPHILITIC SPECIFIC. 

Regarding this nostrum, Dr. Cull, of Marietta, 
Ga., says, in the Medical Brief: " This preparation 
(S. S. S.) I have used, and have known it used years 
before Swift was born. It was first brought to notice 
by a Georgia M. D., who got it direct from the 
Florida Indian chief, ' Billy Bowlegs,' now and for 
many years living west of the Mississippi river, many 
miles from his happy hunting grounds. The Georgia 



172 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

M. D. used it many years in an extensive practice, and 
he stated to me when he gave it to me that he never 
knew a single case it did not cure. I have used it in 
a great number of cases since 1856, and have not 
failed in a single instance in curing every case, both 
primary and constitutional, that I have treated with 
the remedy. It is cheap, and but little trouble to 
obtain it, and I assure my medical brethren that it 
will pay them to use it; besides it is a sure and safe 
remedy, being altogether harmless." 
Take of— 

Old man's gray-beard root 

(chionanthus Virginica) ... 1 bushel. 

Prickly-ash root 16 oz. 

White sumac root 8 oz. 

Red sumac root 8 oz. 

Sarsaparilla root 10 oz. 

Sulphate of copper 8 dr. 

Bruise the gray-beard and sumac roots, and put 
them with the sarsaparilla into an iron pot sufficient to 
hold eight gallons of water, or cover the roots com- 
pletely with the water. Cover the pot with pine tops, 
and boil slowly until the liquid assumes the color of 
ink. Strain while warm, add the sulphate of copper 
and good Holland gin sufficient to prevent fermenta- 
tion. 

Dose: — One wine-glassful four times a day. Strictly 
abstain from horseback riding, butter or very greasy 
food, all kinds of spirits or fermented liquors. Of 
course the chancre must be treated in the usual 
manner. 



AND SYSTEMS. 1 73 

S WAYNE'S OINTMENT. 

Swayne's Ointment is put up in an ordinary 
swedge-top tin box, 1% inches in diameter, and 1 inch 
deep; is filled with a rancid, tallowish-smelling oint- 
ment, light-grayish yellow color, medium consistence. 
Its composition appears to be precipitated sulphur 
2 parts, tallow 3 parts, lard 3 parts. It states on 
the label that this ointment cures tetter, itch, salt- 
rheum, scald-head, piles, ringworm, pimples, blotches, 
barber's itch, ulcers, and eruptions of the skin. 

— New Idea. 

SW AIM'S VERMIFUGE. 

Take of 

Worm-seed 2 oz. 

Valerian 1 ^ oz. 

Rhubarb 1 ^2 oz. 

Pink-root 1^ oz. 

White agaric 1^ oz. 

Boil in sufficient water to yield 3 quarts of decoction, 
and add the following oils dissolved in a quart of 
rectified spirit: 

Oil of tansy 30 drops. 

Oil of cloves 45 drops. 

TAMAR INDIEN. 

Tamarind pulp 450 parts. 

Powd. sugar 40 parts. 

Powd. sugar of milk 60 parts. 

Glycerine 50 parts. 



174 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

Mix and evaporate to the consistency of a soft 
extract, then add — 

Powd. anise 10 parts. 

Essence lemon 3 parts. 

Tartaric acid 3 parts. 

Mix and divide into 100 boluses and roll in the 
following mixture — 

Cream of tartar 5 parts. 

White sugar 35 parts. 

Sugar of milk 35 parts. 

Tragacanth 2 parts. 

Tartaric acid 2 parts. 

Powd. red sandal 25 parts. 

Dry and put up in tin foil. 

— American Druggist, 

TAPE-WORM SPECIALISTS— THEIR SECRET 
METHODS. 

In many of the larger cities of this country a class 
of irregular practitioners can be found who make a 
specialty of the " removal of tape-worms." These 
have considerable success, as the bottled collection of 
taeniae which they exhibit demonstrates. Many of 
these empirics are Germans, and they have quite a 
reputation among their countrymen, who have an idea 
that the removal of a tape-worm requires a certain 
kind of knowledge not possessed by the ordinary 
medical practitioner. 

Their method of procedure is essentially as follows: 
The patient is not permitted to eat anything after the 



AND SYSTEMS. 1 75 

breakfast of the day preceding the treatment. Dur- 
ing the afternoon of that day a brisk, saline cathartic 
is taken to empty the bowels of contained faeces. 
About nine o'clock the next morning the taenicide is 
given. This consists of a tea-spoonful or tea-spoonful 
and a half of the ethereal oil of male-fern, preference 
being given to that manufactured by Merck, of Darm- 
stadt. This is given in half a tea-cupful of warm 
milk, it being claimed that milk is an article of food 
in which the tape-worm greatly delights. 

The patient must then lie down on a couch, having 
a fresh lemon near at hand to suck in case nausea 
should result, as is often the case. This position is 
kept until noon, when another cathartic is to be 
taken. This consists of a good dose of castor oil, with 
fifteen drops of oil of turpentine and one drop of 
croton oil. The movements should be received in a 
specially prepared vessel. A piece of mosquito netting 
is tied loosely over the top of a suitable receptacle in 
order that, while the faeces can readily pass through, 
the worm itself may be retained in a shape for an easy 
examination. 

Frequent trials of this method have convinced the 
compiler of its excellence, and he considers it worthy 
the attention of physicians having such cases to treat. 

In an article in the Ephemeris, on the treatment for 
tape-worm, Dr. Squibb thus speaks of the administra- 
tion of a saline aperient before the tsenicide is given, 
and the reason why it adds to the efficacy of any 
treatment : 



176 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

" This aperient should be a saline, because these 
cause a copious effusion of serous liquid from the 
whole mucous membrane of the canal, and this effusion 
taking place from the surface where the head of the 
worm lies protected by the dense mucus, detaches the 
mucus and washes it away, leaving the head bare for 
contact with the parasiticide, when otherwise it would 
pass over it without direct contact, and therefore 
without effect." 

TARRANT'S EFFERVESCENT SELTZER 
APERIENT. 

" Prepared on an entire new principle from a late and 
accurate analysis of the celebrated Seltzer spring, in 
Germany, with such additions and improvements as will 
be found materially to increase its efficacy." 

The dose of the preparation is one to two tea- 
spoonfuls in water, etc. It is well that the italicized 
lines were added in qualification of their first state- 
ment that the article was prepared from data based 
on the analysis of Seltzer spring water. The prepara- 
tion is essentially magnesia sulphate, tartaric acid, 
bicarbonate of soda, and probably Rochelle salt. The 
bottle contains about 5 ounces avoirdupois of powder, 
which may be substantially duplicated by the following 
formula: 
Take of— 

Soda bicarbonate 168 parts. 

Tartaric acid 150 parts. 

Rochelle salt 50 parts. 

Magnesia sulphate 60 parts. 

— New Idea. 



AND SYSTEMS. I 77 

" THAT LINIMENT." 

Take of— 

Oil of turpentine i oz. 

Oil of spike i oz. 

Oil of origanum i oz. 

Barbadoes tar 2 dr. 

Spirits of camphor ^ dr. 

Mix. 

THIELEMAN'S CHOLERA MIXTURE. 

Take of, by measure — 

Oil peppermint. 4 dr. 

Chloroform 4 dr. 

Fl. ext. ipecac 3^2 dr. 

Fl. ext. valerian 1^ oz. 

Tinct. opium, deod 1^ oz. 

Ether 2 oz. 

Alcohol 6 oz. 

Sherry wine sufficient to make. . 16 oz. 

Mix according to art. 

The adult dose is 25 to 30 drops, in a small quantity 
of water, every twenty minutes until relief is obtained. 

— Western Druggist. 

THOMAS'S ELECTRIC OIL. 

Take of— 

Gum camphor 4 dr. 

Oil gaultheria 4 dr. 

Oil origanum 4 dr. 

Chloroform 1 oz. 

Tinct. opium 1 oz. 

Oil sassafras 1 oz. 



178 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

Oil hemlock 1 oz. 

Oil turpentine 1 oz. 

Balsam fir . . . 1 oz. 

Tinct. guaiacum 1 oz. 

Tinct. catechu 1 oz. 

Alcohol 4 pt. 

Alkanet sufficient to color. 

Mix. —Medical World. 

THOMPSON'S EYE-WATER. 

Take of 

Zinc, sulphate 20 gr 

Copper, sulphate 5 gr 

Tinct. saffron 2 dr. 

Tinct. camphor 1 dr 

Rose-water 8 oz 

Dist. water .... 8 oz, 

Mix and filter. — New Remedies. 

THORN'S COUGH MIXTURE. 

Take of — 

Hive syrup 2 fl. oz. 

Paregoric 1 fl. oz. 

Sweet spts. nitre 1 fl. oz. 

Mix. Dose for an adult: — One tea-spoonful every 
two or three hours. 

TIP-TOP. 

There is a patent nostrum with no formula attached, 
whose nom de plume is Tip- Top, that has gained some 
notoriety in our country, in skin diseases, and, not that 



AND SYSTEMS. I 79 

I wish to publish or " steal the thunder " of any man, 
but as this preparation is nothing more nor less than 
a modification of Magendie's ointment, I will give it 
to the readers of the Summary after this form: 

Take of— 

Calomel 60 gr. 

Tinct. iodine 1 oz. 

Oil sassafras 1 dr. 

Kerosene oil 3 oz. 

Mix. Shake well before using. 

This preparation is tip-top in some skin diseases, and 
does not belie its name. With a few drops of 
carbolic acid added, it will arrest or stop a spider or 
any other poisonous insect bite from assuming the 
erysipelatous or gangrenous form that we frequently 
see in course of the practice of medicine. 

— Dr. Sturdivant, in Medical Summary. 



TOBIAS VENETIAN LINIMENT. 

Take of — 

Spirits of ammonia 5 parts. 

Camphor 2 parts. 

Tinct. of capsicum 5 parts. 

Alcohol 34 parts. 

Water 10 parts. 

Mix them. — Hager. 



l8o SECRET NOSTRUMS 

TOLU, ROCK, AND BYE. 

Take of— 

Good whisky i gal. 

Rock candy 4 lb. 

Balsam tolu 2 oz. 

Put the whole into a two-gallon jug. Set in a warm 
place and agitate several times a day until the candy 
is dissolved. Then strain through muslin. 

TOWNSEND'S PILLS 

Have been in considerable use among physicians of 
our acquaintance. The formula is the following- 

Take of — 

Mass hydrarg 20 gr. 

Gamboge 20 gr. 

Ext. aloes 20 gr. 

Zingiber pulv 20 gr. 

Oil peppermint 3 drops. 

Mix. Divide into 16 pills. 

— American Druggist. 

TRAFTON'S BALM OF LIFE. 

" Balm of Life " cures asthma — so it states on the 
label — and also bronchitis, croup, cough, and all dis- 
eases of the throat and lungs, except confirmed con- 
sumption (?) — a new medicine. Its cures are 
" miraculous," etc., etc. This nostrum is put up in a 
light green panel bottle, containing 7^ fluid ounces 



AND SYSTEMS. l8l 

of a clear amber color liquid, of slightly* spirituous 
saline taste, no pronounced smell, and of neutral 
reaction. According to our analysis it consists of — 

Iodide of potassium So parts. 

Fl. ext. of opium 20 parts. 

Fl. ext. of senega 50 parts. 

Fl. ext. of squills 120 parts. 

Alcohol 240 parts. 

Water enough to make, by 

measure 1920 parts. 

Filter. — New Idea. 
TRASK'S MAGNETIC OINTMENT. 

" Dr." Trask, the famous anti-tobacconist, of Massa- 
chusetts, was the proprietor of what he denominated 
"magnetic ointment." In time the formula for mak- 
ing the somewhat popular unguent was discovered, 
and nicotine was found to carry the alleged "mag- 
netic " power. The recipe called for lard, raisins, 
and tobacco. The ointment was chiefly employed to 
allay pain on any part of the body. Not a few cases 
of nicotine poisoning resulted from the "magnetic" 
medicine. — Chicago Med. Standard. 

Kilner gives the formula as follows: 

Take of — 

Lard, 

Raisins, 

Fine cut tobacco, of each equal parts. 

Simmer well together. Then strain, and press out 
all from the drugs. "This is a splendid remedy in 
ail skin diseases, as salt rheum, tetter, etc." 



162 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

TRIUMPH CORN PLASTERS. 

" Specific cure for corns and bunions. No pain, no 
trouble, a sure cure. * * * Triumph Plaster 
Company, sole proprietor, Greenville, Tenn." 

These plasters come in small yellow envelopes, con- 
taining three small plasters stuck face downward on 
linen. These adhesive wafers are about one inch in 
diameter, and essentially are a cheap, resinous, ad- 
hesive plaster, containing in a central medicated 
portion quantities of salicylic acid. We would sug- 
gest the following formula as a satisfactory one for 
making a good plaster to replace the secret article: 

Make an adhesive plaster by melting equal parts of 
resin and balsam of fir together; while warm spread 
on linen, and when cold cut into circular discs, about 
the size of a nickel, and in the center of each place a 
quantity, about the size of a half pea, of the following 
mixture: 

Resin 3 parts. 

Balsam of fir 2^4 parts. 

Salicylic acid 5 parts. 

Melt the resins together, then stir in the salicylic 
acid. — New Idea. 

TROPIC FRUIT LAXATIVE. 

According to an examination by Adam Conrath 
(Pharm., 1882; 403), this proprietary laxative is a 
combination of jalap, senna, and tamarinds, coated 
with chocolate and sugar, and wrapped in tin foil. It 



AND SYSTEMS. 183 

is offered in a tin box containing one dozen lozenges, 
each averaging about 90 to 95 grains. 

The following is offered as being a very fair dupli- 
cate of the article: 

Take of— 

Jalap, powdered 5 parts. 

Senna, powdered 5 parts. 

Sugar 5 parts. 

Tamarind pulp (E. I.) 30 parts. 

Make into lozenges weighing 45 grains each, and 
coat with chocolate and sugar, and wrap in tin foil. 

VELPEAU'S COMPOUND FOR TREATMENT OF 
GONORRHOEA. 

The formula for Velpeau's Compound was given 
me several years ago by a friend. The drug stores 
have destroyed their old prescription files, and I have 
lost my copy. After putting it up for myself a few 
times, I found that if I followed a certain plan in 
making the compound, the resulting mass was always 
what I wanted. This is how I do it. An ounce 
block of carbonate of magnesia is shaved down with a 
knife, and all the little lumps broken up thoroughly, 
the whole being reduced to a powder. This is done 
on a marble slab. Balsam copaiba in tea-spoonful 
quantities is added and worked in with a strong 
spatula, until the mass is stiff enough to be taken in 
the hands and kneaded without sticking. The dough 
is now rolled in powdered cubebs, and as much worked 
into it as well can be. Dose, a piece the size of the 



184 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

last joint of the little finger, after meals. It never 
disagrees with the most delicate stomach, and stops 
the scalding in twelve hours. 

— Dr. Hyatt in Medical World. 

Dr. Gates writes subsequently in same journal: "I 
notice Dr. Hyatt gives in a short and concise form 
the formula for Velpeau's mass or compound. I have 
filed in my prescription book the doctor's original 
copy, which I think is superior to the one he gives. 

" I learned after several days compounding, while a 
student in Dr. H.'s office, that it was impossible for 
the magnesia to be reduced sufficiently with a knife 
and my fingers to work well, owing to the small 
lumps. After shaving off an ounce block, I devised a 
plan of my own, which I have used ever since. This 
is how I do it: Take an ordinary sieve, turn it bottom 
up, rub your block of magnesia over it; then the 
magnesia will fall through the perforations of the sieve 
on a marble slab, placed beneath for this purpose." 

Take of— 

Oil copaiba 6 fl. oz. 

Magnesia carb sufficient. 

Make into a putty-like paste, then gradually add — 

Powd. cubebs 1 oz. 

or more if desired, 

Powdered opium 7 gr. 

Dried sulphate of iron 100 gr. 

Mix. Dose: — A piece the size of a peanut, or last 
joint of little finger, after eating. 



AND SYSTEMS. 185 

VAN STAN'S STRATENA 

Is said to be made as follows: 
Take of— 

Acetic acid 4 oz. 

White glue 3 oz. 

French gelatine 4 dr. 

Shellac varnish 4 fl. dr. 

Distilled water 4 fl. oz. 

Dissolve the glue in the acetic acid with heat, and 
the gelatine and water with heat. Mix the two solu- 
tions gradually, and work until a uniform mixture 
results, then add the shellac varnish. Mix thoroughly 
and bottle. — New Idea. 

VAN BTJSKIRK'S FRAGRANT SOZODONT. 

The following formula may be regarded as making 
an article identical with the original in all essential 
features: 

Take of — 

Alcohol 1 fl. oz. 

Water 1% fl. oz. 

Soap 120 gr. 

Oil of wintergreen 2 minims. 

Red sanders sufficient. 

Dissolve the soap in the mixture of alcohol and 
water; add the color, perfume with oil of wintergreen, 
add enough water to make the fluid measure three 
ounces. The following is suggested as a similar 






!86 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

article to the Fragrant Sozodont Powder, which ac- 
companies the liquid: 
Take of— 

Infusorial earth 4° gr- 

Orris root 125 gr. 

Precipitated chalk 200 gr. 

To make 365 g r - 

Perfume very lightly with oil of cloves. 

WALKER'S VINEGAR BITTERS. 

The following closely approximates: 
Take of— 

Powd. golden seal 1 oz. 

Powdered aloes, cape % oz. 

Water l6 oz - 

Bottle up, tie the cork down tightly. Ready for 
use in ten days. —The Drug Mill. 

Walker, the proprietor of Vinegar Bitters, worked 
the "temperance dodge" for all it was worth, and 
succeeded during the period from 1868 to 1873, in 
selling more bottles of a villainous, turbid, disgusting 
sour swill under the pretext of its being medicine, 
than any other quack nostrum maker before or since. 
We believe it has a very limited sale at the present 
time. - New Idea - 



AND SYSTEMS. 187 

WASNEE'S SAFE CUBE, 

The following appeared originally in the Druggists' 
Circular, 1882, and is said to resemble the secret 
preparation: 

Take of — 

Nitrate potash 320 gr. 

Liverwort 1 oz. 

Alcohol 2 oz. 

Glycerine ij^ oz. 

Essence of wintergreen 40 drops. 

Water sufficient to make 16 fl. oz. 

Make an infusion of the liverwort with one pint of 
hot water, strain, dissolve in it the nitrate of potash; 
when cold add the glycerine, alcohol, and essence 
of wintergreen. Filter the liquid, and if necessary 
add sufficient water to make one pint. 

WASHBTJRNE'S SALICYLICA. 

A preparation bearing a close resemblance to Sali- 
cylica may be made by the following simple prescrip- 
tion. 

Take of — 

Salicylate of soda 4 dr. 

Make 24 powders. 

— Druggists' Circular. 



155 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

WATT'S ANTI-RHEUMATIC PILLS. 

Said to be as follows: 

Take of— 

Powd. aloes 4 dr. 

Powd. gamboge 4 dr. 

Powd. hellebore 2 dr. 

Powd. guaiac ]/z dr. 

Calomel y? dr. 

Precip. sulphide of antimony. ... 15 gr. 

Oil of cloves y 2 fl. dr. 

Soap 1 dr. 

Sp. of camphor sufficient. 

Mix. Make into five-grain pills. 

WAYNE'S DIURETIC ELIXIR. 

I see in November World the formula asked for. 
I used it ten years, but found the price too high. I 
now manufacture it myself for half the price, and find 
it identical, producing the same results. I have put 
it up for sixteen years, and know it to be a good 
diuretic. 

Take of— 

Potass, acetate 3 oz. 

Fl. ext. buchu 3 oz. 

Fl. ext. juniper 1^ oz. 

Simple syrup sufficient to make. 1 pint. 

Mix. One dessert-spoonful three or four times 
daily. — Dr. Crider, in Med. World. 



AND SYSTEMS. 1 89 

WESTERN "RECTAL SPECIALISTS." 

The modern Western " Rectal Specialist " is a 
lineal descendant of the original pile doctor. He 
uses still, in common with many reputable physicians, 
the hypodermic method in treating piles, but his 
evolution has proceeded so far that he now under- 
takes to treat other common rectal diseases as well, 
in a fashion peculiarly his own, and suited rather to 
his own convenience as an itinerant, than to his 
patients' real welfare. He no longer buys his secret 
and local right to practice, but invests from fifty to 
one hundred dollars in one of the "systems." He 
thus obtains a complete set of instruments and a small 
secret manual of instructions, which " enable persons 
of no particular skill to treat successfully all rectal 
diseases." As a matter of fact, many of these per- 
sons are not medical graduates at all, but mere 
adventurers, whose entire knowledge of their spe- 
cialty consists in what their little book of instructions 
has furnished them. In some instances the itinerant 
is not allowed to know the composition of the various 
remedies directed by the secret pamphlet. He must 
buy them of the author of the "system," thus con- 
tinually paying him tribute. Several of these "sys- 
tems," by underselling each other, have greatly 
reduced their prices, so that from three hundred dol- 
lars they have now fallen in price to fifty and even 
less. — Andrews's Rectal and Anal Surgery. 



190 SECRET NOSTURMS 

WHEELER'S ELIXIR. 

The following is given as closely approximating 
the genuine article: 
Take of— 

Solution of phosphate of iron. . . 2 dr. 
Solution of lacto-phosphate of lime 4 dr. 
Muriatic acid, sufficient, about . . 1 dr. 
Elixir cinchona, from alkaloids. . 8 oz. 

Simple elixir 7 oz. 

Essence of bitter almonds y 2 dr. 

Carmine sufficient to color. 

Mix and filter. If the preparation does not remain 
clear, add a few drops of muriatic acid. 

The solution of phosphate of iron is made as follows: 
Take of— 

Sulphate of iron 4 oz. 

Warm water 8 oz. 

Sugar 4 oz. 

Solution of phosphoric acid .... 4 oz. 

Dissolve the sulphate of iron in the warm water; add 
the solution of phosphoric acid and sugar, and filter. 
The solution of phosphoric acid is made as follows: 
Take of— 

Glacial phosphoric acid 8 oz. 

Warm water 8 oz. 

Nitric acid 320 gr. 

Dissolve the phosphoric acid in the water by allow- 
ing it to stand a few hours, stirring occasionally; add 
the nitric acid, and heat until no smell of it remains; 
then make up to one pint with water. 



AND SYSTEMS. 19I 

WHITE'S COUGH SYHUP. 

Take of— 

Syrup tolutani 2 oz. 

Glycerini 4 oz. 

Syrup scillae comp 6 oz. 

Syrup ipecacuanha? 6 oz. 

Tinct. lobelia 6 oz. 

Tinct. opii camph 6 oz. 

Ext. pilocarpi fl 2 oz. 

Ammonii chloridi 1 oz. 

Mix. Dose: — Take a tea-spoonful three times dur- 
ing the day, and every hour or two before going to 
bed. 

WHITE'S ELIXIR. 

The following is the formula of "White's Elixir," 
a nostrum extensively sold throughout Vermont for 
lung complaints: 

Take of— 

Antimonii et potassii tart 32 gr. 

Tinct. opii 2 dr. 

Tinct. camphorse 2 dr. 

Tinct. anisi 2 dr. 

Alcoholis dil 3 oz. 

Syrupi simplicis 10 oz. 

Aquae to make , 1 pt. 

Mix. — Dr. Ladue in Medical World. 



192 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

WEI DE MEYER'S CATARRH CURE. 

We examined in 1880 and found it to be composed 
almost entirely of bicarbonate of soda, costing less 
than one-tenth of one cent for the contents of a box, 
which retails for $1.50. — New Idea. 

WILSON'S LIGHTNING LINIMENT. 

Take of — 

Oil of cedar 3 oz. 

Oil of sassafras 3 oz. 

Tinct. of opium 3 oz. 

Tinct. of guaiac 3 oz. 

Tinct. of capsicum 3 oz. 

Aqua ammonia 4 oz. 

Spirit of camphor 4 oz. 

Spirit of turpentine 4 oz. 

Chloroform 3 oz. 

Alcohol 1 gal. 

— Drug. Circular. 



WINSLOW'S SOOTHING SYRUP. 

Take of— 

Morphia sulph >£ gr. 

Sodii carbon 1 gr. 

Simp, syrup i>£ oz. 

Aqua Yz oz. 

Spirit fceniculi 1 dr. 



-New Idea. 



AND SYSTEMS. 1 93 

WISTAR'S BALSAM OF WILD CHERRY. 

This preparation is of a reddish-brown color, hav- 
ing an odor of anise and sugar-house syrup. It comes 
in an octagonal bottle, holding ten fluid ounces of the 
solution. The wrapper is lithographed in plain black 
on white. Examination showed it to contain a flu- 
orescent principle, extracted from alkaline solution 
by amyl alcohol (wild cherry), an alkaloid soluble in 
amyl alcohol and precipitated by Mayer's reagent, 
(probable presence of ipecac, though opium may also 
be present), tartar emetic, coloring matter, oil anise, 
sugar-house syrup, and possibly other substances of 
less importance. The following formula makes a 
preparation which is substantially the same as the 
proprietary article: 

Take of — 

Fl. ext. wild cherry i fl. oz. 

Fl. ext. ipecac 2 fl. dr. 

Fl. ext. squills 2 fl. dr. 

Tinct. opium 1 dr. 

Tartar emetic 2 gr. 

Sugar-house syrup 3 fl. oz. 

Alcohol 6 fl. dr. 

Sp. anise (1 in, 8) 20 m. 

Tinct. cudbear comp., N. F. . 2 dr. 

Water sufficient to make 8 fl. oz. 

— New Idea. 



194 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

WITCH-HAZEL PILE OINTMENT. 

Take of — 

Tinct. hamamelis 12 dr. 

Lanoleum 6 dr. 

Petrolatum 16 oz. 

Mix. 

Lanoleum is here used in place of the copyrighted 
term lanolin. 

— Med. Standard. 

WOLCOTT'S PAIN PAINT. 

I have made an article closely resembling this, and 
answering the same purpose, by taking: 

Oil of peppermint 1 to 2 dr. 

Dried mint leaves, finely pulv. 1 to 2 dr. 

Moisten the leaves with the oil, enclose in lead 
wrappers (to prevent evaporation), leave enclosed a 
few days, then dissolve in four Ounces of alcohol; add 
twelve ounces of water, shake and filter. 

—Dr. Crull, in Med. World. 

YELLOW FAMILY DROPS. 

Take of — 

Opium 2 oz. 

Sapo venet 1 lb. 

Croci opt 2 y 2 oz. 

Sp. rosemarini 2 lb. 

Mix. Digest for a week, and add — 



AND SYSTEMS. 1 95 

01. rosmarini 2 fl. oz. 

01. origani 2 fl. oz. 

Camphor 2 oz. 

Mix well. 

For spirit rosemarini, take — 

Rosmarini 3 oz. 

Alcohol, sufficient to make 2 lb. 

The above, with the Augsburg Essence of Life, and 
Green Wonder Oil (published elsewhere in this work) 
are famous old formulas used for a century and longer 
in Pennsylvania. They came to me by chance in a 
curious old book of prescriptions, which belonged to 
one of the Fahnestock family. The Yellow Family 
Drops are still used to break up colds, and are an 
efficient remedy. — Prof. Waugh in Med. World. 

THE COST OF NOSTRUMS. 

The Indiana Pharmacist, in an article advising 
druggists to prepare their own stock medicines, in- 
stead of selling nostrums, gives the following figures 
estimating the cost of preparations, identical with or 
superior to the secret articles. 

"Why should you pay $1.90 a dozen for Bull's 
Cough Syrup, when you can put up a better article, 
containing no opium, giving three times the quantity 
for the same money, at a cost of but 46 cents a 
dozen ? " 

Here is a formula for a most excellent cough 
syrup: 



196 SECRET NOSTRUMS 

Take of— 

Fl. ext. ipecac 2 oz. 38 cents. 

Chloroform , . . ^ oz. 2 cents. 

Tinct. white pine .... 8 oz. 14 cents. 

Water 28 oz. 

Sugar 56 oz. 25 cents. 

Magnesia carb 2 oz. 3 cents. 

Tinct. gelsemium. . . . 1 oz. 2 cents. 

Total cost f. 84 cents. 

This makes five pints of finished product, which, put 
up in three-ounce ball-neck panels, holding 2%. 
ounces, would make 3^ dozen bottles. The cost of 
the bottles would be 50 cents, and the labels, wrappers, 
etc., would cost not more than 10 cents, making a 
total cost of $1.44 for three and one-sixth dozen 
syrup, or about 46 cents a dozen, as against $1.90 a 
dozen for Bull's. 

Take the subject of bitters. None of the patents 
can be bought for less than $7.00 a dozen, and from 
that up to $8.50. They retail for $1.00, where "cut- 
ting" is not known. Take the following formula: 

Take of— 

Cinchona bark, red. .. . 8 oz. 30 cents. 

Gentian root 8 oz. 5 cents. 

Columbo root 8 oz. 10 cents. 

Juniper berries 8 oz. 3 cents. 

Glycerine 8 oz. 9 cents. 

Alcohol 1 part. 55 cents. 

Water 3 parts. 

To make one gallon of finished product. 



AND SYSTEMS. 1 97 

Have the drugs ground to coarse powder, pack in a 
percolator, pour on menstruum until the top of the 
drug is evenly covered. When the percolate begins to 
drop, insert a cork in the percolator, cover the top, 
and allow the contents to macerate 48 hours. Then 
proceed to obtain 7^2 pints of percolate, to which add 
the glycerine. Flavor with oil of wintergreen. 

This makes eight pints of finished product, which ? 
put up in pint bottles, sells for $1.00 a bottle. The 
bottles cost 28 cents, and the labels and wrappers not 
to exceed 10 cents, making a total cost of $1.50 for 
eight bottles, or $2.25 for a dozen, as against $7.00 
to $8.00 for the regular nostrum. 

For a blood purifier that will "do the work every 
time:" 

Take of — 

Fl. ext. sarsaparilla . . 8 oz. 50 cents. 

Fl. ext. stillingia .... 8 oz. 25 cents. 

Fl. ext. yellow dock. . 8 oz. 25 cents. 

Podophyllin 24 gr. 3 cents. 

Aqua 2 pt. 

Elix. simplex 2 pt. 23 cents. 

Alcohol 2 pt. 55 cents. 

Iodide potash 1 oz. 18 cents. 

Mix and filter. Put up in paneled 14-ounce bottles. 
This will give 9 bottles to the gallon. The bottles 
will cost 26 cents, labels and wrappers 10 cents, 
making a total cost of $2.35 for 9 bottles, or $3.13 
a dozen, as against $7.00 to $8.50 a dozen for the 
much-vaunted nostrums that are generally only a 
solution of epsom salts, colored and flavored. 



J 9^ SECRET NOSTRUMS 

For a kidney cure, one that invariably brings back 
the customer, recommends itself and makes business 
brisk: 



Take of- 



Fl. ext. buchu 

Fl. ext. pareira brava 
Fl. ext. stone-root . . 

Acetate potass 

Holland gin, best. . . 
Simple elixir, to make 



8 oz. 35 cents. 



4 oz. 20 cents. 

4 oz. 20 cents. 

4 oz. 15 cents. 

8 oz. 20 cents. 

1 gal. 72 cents. 

Mix. Filter and put up in bottles holding eight 
ounces, plain or paneled, as best suits. The bottles 
will cost 44 cents, and the labels and wrappers 10 
cents, making a total cost of $2.36 for 16 bottles, or 
$1.77 a dozen. This can be sold for 50 cents a bottle, 
and will afford a much better per cent, and larger 
profit than Warner's nostrums, and do the patient 
some good. 

For a liniment for general purposes, that will 
relieve pain and soreness, giving much better satis- 
faction than St. Jacob's Oil: 

Take of — 



Soap liniment 5 pt. $}] 



.10 
12 



Aqua ammonia 2 pt. 

Tinct. opium 1 pt. .60 

Mix. 



INDEX. 



Albadermine 5 

Allen's Lung Balsam 6 

Allen's World's Hair Restorer 7 

Anal Fissure, Treatment for 21 

Anal Fistula, Treatment for 20 

A nti- Constipation Pad 7 

Arabian Balsam 7 

Aseptin 8 

Athlophoros 8 

Augsburg Essence of Life 14 

Ayer's Ague Cure 9 

Ayer's Cherry Pectoral 9 

Ayer's Hair Vigor 10 

Ayer's Recamicr Preparations 10 

Ayer's Sarsaparilla 10 

Ayer's Vita X uova 12 

Barcel's Indian Liniment 15 

Barker's Nerve and Bone Liniment 15 

Barnes's Frost Balsam 14 

Baunscheidt's Oil 16 

Becker's Eye Salve 16 

I li § gs's Ague Pills 16 

m's Skin Cure 17 

lee's German Syrup 18 

Brandreth's Pills. . . .' 18 

BrinkerhofPs System 19 

Brodie's Asthma Liniment 24 

Brodii 's Liniment 24 

Bromides, Peacock's 133 

Bromo-Chloralum 25 

Brown's Bronchial Troches 25 

Brown's Dentifrice 26 

Brown's Iron Bitters 26 

199 



200 SECRET NOSTRUMS. 

Brown's Male-Fern Vermifuge 26 

Brunelli's Embalming Process 27 

Bryan's Pulmonic Wafers 27 

Buckler's Croup Mixture 28 

Bucklin's Arnica Salve 28 

Bull's Blood Syrup 28 

Bull's Cough Syrup 29 

Calder's Dentine 29 

California Liniment 30 

Cancer Pastes 30 

Carbolate Iodine Inhalant 35 

Carbolic Smoke Balls 35 

Carter's Little Liver Pills 37 

Castoria 37 

Catani's Specific 38 

Cazeaux's Nipple Ointment 38 

Celerina 38 

Centaur Liniment 39 

Chamberlain's Diarrhoea Remedy 41 

Chamberlain's Relief 41 

Chloralum 41 

Chloride of Gold, for Opium Habit 55 

Chlorodyne 4 2 > 43 

Clark's Blood Mixture 4 1 

Cleary's Asthma Powder 44 

Coaline Headache Powders 44 

Cobb's Pills 45 

Coe's Dyspepsia Cure 45 

Combe's Aperient 4° 

Comedone Lotion 4 6 

Cook's Electro-Magnetic Liniment 46 

Corrassa Compound 47 

Compound Oxygen 49 

Cosmetics 5 1 

Cost of Nostrums 195 

Cram's Fluid Lightning 53 

Cuticura Ointment 53 

Cuticura Resolvent 53 

Day's Kidney Pad 54 

Dellenbaugh's Cough Cure 54 

Derby Liniment 54 

Deshler's Salve 55 

Double Chloride of Gold 55 

Dow's White Liquid Physic 55 



INDEX. 20I 

Egyptian Eye Salve 56 

Elepizone ... 56 

Elixir Iodo-Brom. Calcium Compound 57 

Elixir Pinus Compound 57 

Elixir Thion Compound 58 

Elliman's Royal Embrocation 59 

Ely's Cream Balm 59 

Embalming Process, Brunelli's 27 

Enos's Fruit Salt 60 

Espey's Fragrant Cream 61 

Fahnestock's Vermifuge 61 

Falk's Sulpholine Cream 62 

Febriline 62 

Fellows's Hypophosphites 63 

Firwein 64 

Flagg's Relief 65 

Fleury's Tasteless Cascarine 65 

Ford's Balsam of Hoarhound 66 

Fosgate's Anodyne Cordial . . . : 66 

Freeman's Vermifuge Oil 67 

French Uterine Pad 67 

Funk's Cream of Roses 67 

Garfield Tea 68 

Gargling Oil 69 

Genuine White Oil Liniment 69 

Giles's Iodide of Ammonia Liniment 69 

Golden Eye Water 70 

Gombault's Caustic Balsam 70 

Gooche's Mexican Cough Syrup 71 

Good Samaritan Cough Syrup 72 

Good Samaritan Liniment 72 

Grandmother's Own Cough Remedy 73 

Gray's Specific Pills . . 73 

Great London Liniment 74 

Green Mountain Salve 75 

Green's August Flower 74 

Green Wonder Oil 75 

Grimault's Injection of Matico 76 

Gull's Cough M ixture 77 

Gunn's Rheumatic Liniment 77 

Hagan's Magnolia Balm 77 

I laines's Golden Specific 78 

Hair's Asthma Cure 78 



202 SECRET NOSTRUMS. 

Hall's Catarrh Cure 80 

Hall's Hair Renewer 80 

Hall's Hygienic Treatment 81 

Hamburg Drops 85 

Hamburg Tea 85 

Hamlet's Ague Pills 86 

Hamlin's Wizard Oil 86 

Hanson's Magic Corn Cure 86 

Hardy's Ointment 87 

Harlem Oil 87 

Hartley's South American Cure 87 

Hayden's Viburnum Compound 88 

Heaton's Hernia Cure 89 

Heiskell's Tetter Ointment 91 

Helmbold's Buchu 92 

Helmbold's Jelly 92 

Hemorrhoids, Rorick's Formula 148 

Himrod's Asthma Cure 92 

Hinkley's Bone Liniment. . . . t 93 

Holloway's Ointment 93 

Holloway's Pills 94 

Holmes's Liver Pills 94 

Hop Bitters 94 

Hostetter's Bitters 95 

Hunter's Red Drops 95 

Hunyadi Janos Water. . . 96 

Injection Brou 96 

Injection, Grimault's Matico 76 

Iodia 97 

Jayne's Alterative 98 

Jayne's Expectorant 97 

Kaskine 98 

Keating's Cough Lozenges 99 

Kellog's Red Drops 99 

Kendall's Spavin Cure 99 

Kennedy's Medical Discovery 100 

Kennkle's Worm Syrup 100 

Kephalgine 101 

Kickapoo Indian Oil 101 

King's New Discovery 102 

Kitchell's Liniment .... 102 

Kline's Nerve Restorer 103 

Kreyder's Ague Pills 103 



INDEX. 203 

Kumyss 103 

Lac Virginis 106 

La Fayette Mixture 1 1 1 

Lallemand's Specific 106 

Langell's Asthma Remedy 106 

Laubach's Eclectic Liniment 106 

Lavarre's Sure Cure 107 

LaviUe's Gout Cure 108 

Lee's Anti-Bilious Pills 108 

Lee's Gravel Remedy 109 

Lee's Lithontriptic 109 

Le Page's Liquid Glue 131 

Liebig's Corn Cure no 

Lightning Liniment 192 

Lindscy's Pain Cure Ill 

Liniment for Man and Beast 112 

Liquor Carbonis Detcrgens 113 

Listerine 113 

Little Hop Pills 114 

Locock's Pulmonic Wafers 115 

Lowndes's Magic Cream 115 

Low's Magnetic Liniment 116 

Lyon's Kathairon 116 

Magnetic Liniment 117 

Malvina Cream 117 

Malvina Lotion 118 

Matthieu's Vermifuge 1 19 

Matico Injection 76 

Meibom's Pectoral Balsam 1 19 

Metz's Balsam 120 

Mexican Mustang Liniment 121 

Microbe Killer, Radam's 141 

Miller's Golden Oil 122 

Mitchell's Eye Salve 122 

Mitchell's Treatment of Piles 123 

Morel lead's Magnetic Plaster 123 

Mother Siegel's Syrup 126 

127 

Murray's System Tonic 127 

I '.arker's 15 

Nerve and Bone Liniment 128 

Nipple' Ointment, Cazeaux's. 38 

Number Thirteen 128 

Oil of Gladness 129 



204 SECRET NOSTRUMS. 

Oil of Joy 129 

Olive Branch 1 29 

Orange Blossom 129 

Osgood's Cholagogue 130 

Oxygen, Compound 49 

Ozone Uterine Wafers 131 

Page's Liquid Glue 131 

Palmer's Cosmetic Lotion 131 

Papine 131 

Parsons's Local Anaesthetic 132 

Pastes, Cancer 30 

Patterson's Emulsion 132 

Peacock's Bromides 133 

Peekskill's Cough Syrup 133 

Perry's Blood Purifier 133 

Perry Davis's Pain Killer 134 

Pettit's Eye Salve 134 

Phillips's Emulsion 135 

Phenol Sodique 135 

Pierce's Favorite Prescription 136 

Pierce's Golden Medical Discovery 136 

Piles, Brinkerhoff's Treatment 19 

Piles, Mitchell's Treatment 123 

Pimple Lotion 137 

Piso's Cure for Consumption 137 

Piatt's Chlorides 138 

Pleis's Fit Powders 138 

Polypus, Brinkerhoff's Treatment for 22 

Pope's Cure for Neuralgia 138 

Powell's Balm of Anise-Seed 139 

Price's Pile Ointment 139 

Proctor's Vermifuge 14° 

Quick Stop for Headaches 140 

Radam's Microbe Killer 141 

Radical Catarrh Cure 151 

Radway's Pills 142 

Radway's Ready Relief 142 

Radway's Renovating Resolvent 142 

Ransom's Hive Syrup and Tolu 143 

Reave's Embrocation 143 

Recamier Balm 10 

Recamier Cream 11 

Recamier Lotion * . . 11 



INDEX. 205 

Recamier Powder 11 

Recamier Soap 12 

Red Star Cough Cure 144 

Ree's Cholera Mixture 144 

Rex Magnus 144 

Richmond's Samaritan Nervine 145 

Roche's Embrocation 146 

Rogers's Excelsior Corn Cure 148 

Rorick's Formula for Hemorrhoids 148 

Rosalind 148 

Russell's Botanic King 149 

Russia Salve 1 50 

Sage's Catarrh Remedy 151 

Sanford's Catarrh Cure 151 

Saul's Catarrh Cure .... 152 

Sawyer's Uterine Pastilles 152 

Schenck's Pulmonic Syrup 155 

Scotch Oats Essence 167 

Scott's Emulsion 155 

Sea-Shore Diphtheria Cure 156 

Seeley's Pile Ointment 157 

Senckenburg's Migraine Pastilles 157 

Seven Barks 157 

Seven Seals 158 

Seven Sutherland Sisters' Hair Grower 158 

Sexual Disorders 159 

Shiloh's Consumption Cure 162 

Simmons's Liver Regulator 163 

Sirop Gibcrt 163 

Skinner's Dandruff Mixture 164 

Smedley's Fever Powders 164 

Smith Bros.' Cough Drops 164 

Sozodont 185 

Steedman's Soothing Powders 165 

Stillingia Liniment for Croup 55 

St. Jacob's Oil 165 

St. John's Liniment 166 

St. John Long's Liniment 166 

Stokes's Expectorant 167 

Stomach Pad 168 

Strong's Arnica Jelly 168 

Sykcs's Catarrh Cure 169 

Syrup <>f Figs 170 

Syrup Stillingia Compound 170 

Sweet's Ointment 171 



206 SECRET NOSTRUMS. 

Swift's Syphilitic Specific 171 

Swayne's Ointment 173 

Swaim's Vermifuge 173 

Tamar Indien 173 

Tape-Worm Specialists 174 

Tarrant's Seltzer Aperient 176 

Tetter Ointment, HeiskelPs 91 

" That " Liniment 177 

Thieleman's Cholera Mixture 177 

Thomas's Electric Oil 177 

Thompson's Eye Water 178 

Thorn's Cough Mixture 178 

Tip-Top 178 

Tobias's Venetian Liniment 179 

Tolu, Rock and Rye 180 

Townsend's Pills 180 

Trafton's Balm of Life 180 

Trask's Magnetic Ointment 181 

Triumph Corn Plasters 182 

Tropic Fruit Laxative 182 

Ulcer Specific, Brinkerhoff 's 20 

Van Buskirk's Sozodont 185 

Van Stan's Stratena 185 

Venetian Liniment 179 

Velpeau's Compound 183 

Vita Nuova , 12 

Walker's Vinegar Bitters 186 

Warner's Safe Cure 187 

Washburn's Salicylica 187 

Watt's Anti-Rheumatic Pills 188 

Wayne's Diuretic Elixir 188 

Western Rectal Specialists 189 

Wheeler's Elixir 190 

White's Cough Syrup 191 

White's Elixir 191 

Wei de Meyer's Catarrh Cure 192 

Wilson's Lightning Liniment 192 

Winslow's Soothing Syrup 192 

Wistar's Balsam of Wild Cherry 193 

Witch-Hazel Pile Ointment 194 

Wolcott's Pain Paint 194 

Yellow Family Drops 194 



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